


Along Came a Spider-Prompto

by InsomniacTiger



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Everyone respects Nyx, Gladio's smarter than people give him credit for, I'm a few steps away from calling him Prompto Parker, Momma Ignis, Noctis Can Be Dense, Noctis is a FanBoy, Nyx Ulric will make appearences, Prompto Gets Embarrassed Easily, Prompto is Spider-man, Talcott is the Cactuar Child, spider-man au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-06-22 03:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 21,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15572256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsomniacTiger/pseuds/InsomniacTiger
Summary: The amazing - spectacular - not so well thought out - adventures of Spider-man! (Spider-man AU - Obviously.)





	1. The Adventure Begins!

From way up on top of the Citadel, Insomnia was gorgeous. The city was known for being marvelous throughout Eos. But the fact that it just felt like home was the icing on the cake. Pulling out his camera from the backpack stashed next to him he snapped a shot of the sun setting across the cityscape. As he was putting it away he felt the vibration of his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey – are you here right now?"

It was Noctis. Here?

_Oh snap._  Today was one of the days the Prince was visiting the Citadel. But how did he know that Prompto was there?

"Uh… no? You mean the Citadel right? Nada."

"Huh. The GPS on your phone says you're here."

_Craaaaap._  "Right. Well. You see - I dropped my phone in a puddle earlier and its been acting kinda wonky. I bet its just glitching on the location part."

Noctis hummed. "Too bad. Iggy's making something awesome for dinner. Thought you'd be interested if you were near by."

"Iggy is  _always_  making something good for dinner." Prompto pointed out.

"True. What are you doing tonight? Want to meet at my place for some King's Knight?"

At that moment his police scanner beeped.  _Mugging on the east side._

"Aaaah. I wish I could buddy. But I gotta cram this homework in."

"That paper? I thought you were working on that last night?"

"I was! But it sucked so I'm redoing it."

"I'm sure it was fine."

"Nope. It was awful trust me. Hey – I gotta go. I'll see you in class tomorrow alright?"

"Sure. See ya."

Hanging up he dropped his phone back into his pack before leaping off the tall building.

That moment of free falling was exhilarating. He remembered the first time he had slipped up and experienced this by accident. It had been terrifying. He had truly believed that he was going to be splattered like a bug on the sidewalk. But then he remembered who he was. Who he had become.

And at the last possible moment he had shot his hand out and activated the mechanism that allowed him to shoot the sticky yet strong fibers that acted as his webbing.

"Hey look! Its Spider-man!"

Beneath his mask he grinned widely. It was incredible how popular he had become in the Insomnia in the short time he had been doing this 'hero gig'. It was the field trip almost a year ago now with his and Noctis's class to some science research center. It was run by a Doctor Sania and some Glaives that were more about the scientific side to the Crystal's power than the magic side. They had been experimenting with some crazy stuff that included different types of creatures living throughout Eos. Which included spiders.

Prompto  _hated_  bugs. All of them. Insects, arachnids, whatever. They were all creepy crawlies. He hated them. But spiders… he had developed a certain respect for them. Granted, he wasn't going to allow one to live in his bathroom or anything. If he saw one in his apartment it was getting thrown out. But he had stopped squealing like a small child and stomping them viciously now.

So – improvement.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had just handed us the damn wallet when we asked!"

There were his muggers.

Dropping lightly to his feet he landed in the back alley and gave himself exactly three seconds to take in his surroundings. Four guys standing over one guy. The four were kicking into the side of the man on the ground. None of them were that big, but they were likely armed with at least a knife.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you how to play nice?" Prompto taunted getting their attention.

The four muggers spun toward the new voice, each of them with an expression of fear.

"I mean it's already bad enough that you guys smell the way you do, but now you can't even share?"

"You need to get outta here Spider-Freak. This was our turf long before you came along."

"Don't you know that you bad guys always end up hanging from a lamp post?"

By now the man they had been kicking had gathered his cards that they had tossed from his wallet and slipped away down the side alley with a nod toward  _Spider-man_  for the assistance.

"Shut up!" The muggers charged at him.

Why did they think they could win?

It may have gone more in their favor if they really all had charged at once. But they hesitated and let their lead man go first. Once Prompto had ducked from the initial attack he kicked out a leg knocking the man down and hastily delivered a jab hard enough to the back of his head to keep him down. The other three were even slower than the first, and were easily dealt with.

Within just a few minutes they were hanging from the lamppost outside the police office.

As promised.

* * *

_This story has been stuck in my head ever since I discovered the gorgeous art over on tumblr by the amazing **destiny-islanders**. Seriously guys, go check out their stuff. Its fantastic._


	2. Same Night Another Victim

Zipping through the air over the busy streets he debated going home and actually writing that paper. He hadn't lied to Noctis. He really had written it already. And it really had sucked. It  _needed_  to be redone. He tried to convince himself that as long as the police scanner was close by he could rush out and leave whenever there was a call.

That was when he noticed two men trailing behind a woman. She was focused on her phone oblivious to the men who were not subtle in their actions. Then she did the dumbest thing anyone could ever do. She turned to walk down a back alley in the middle of the night.

Prompto rolled his eyes as he ran along the rooftop watching closely for the moment when the guys made their move.

It was like survival one-oh-one. Don't go down dark alleys alone. Ever.

As much as he thought this was common sense maybe he really did need to write the book. If people read it, it would make his job so much easier here. Something to consider…

At that moment one of the men reached forward grabbing her arm. She screamed.

 _At least she knew to scream._  He had seen too many people try to defend themselves without making a sound. The noise could alert a passerby. That person passing by could call the police. The things people didn't think about…

Leaping down he landed on top of the man's companion sending him sprawling on the filthy trash ridden ground.

"You really should take a lesson in personal space."

"Oh sh-"

He webbed the man's mouth shut.

"That is no way to speak in front of a lady!" Prompto chuckled.

These men were smarter than the previous ones he'd met tonight and ran away instead of trying to fight him.

"Thank you so much Spider-man!" The woman hugged him.

"Oh. Y-yeah. No biggie. Part of the job and all." He chuckled trying not to sound as awkward as he felt.

"Is there any way I can repay you? Dinner maybe?" She looked up at him with bright eyes.

"Ah yes. I mean no! Uh - Just one thing. Try not to walk alone at night? And  _never_  walk down dark alleys? Um, please?"

She blinked in surprise than laughed. "Yes sir!"

He watched her make her way back to the busy main street before disappearing inside an apartment building. Trying very hard not to think over what words had just come out of his mouth. With the mask on he was Spider-man! Normally with the security of his anonymity came a certain confidence that "Everyday Prompto" just couldn't maintain. But when it came to very pretty girls? He still sounded like an idiot.

Nice to know some things just don't change…

For the rest of the night he followed every siren and alert he heard. This was not the life he imagined he would have. Sure every kid at some point wanted to be a superhero. At one point every kid probably thought they were a superhero. But as a senior in high school? Not so much. At the end of every night he would crash land on his crappy mattress in his apartment, which was definitely over priced considering how dumpy it really was, he would feel the slight soreness in his arms, abs, and legs.

Swinging around the city used muscles that he just wasn't used to using. Every night he looked at his alarm clock, the red glow telling him that it was actually morning and he would have to leave for class in a little over an hour. But he thought about the people he had helped, and it was worth it.

Every time.


	3. By Day? He's a Tired Prompto

Noctis glanced over at the seat next to him. Prompto's seat. It was still empty. Of course school had only began forty-five minutes ago. Technically it was still early for his blonde friend to be here, considering for almost their entire senior year Prompto had developed a habit of sleeping in. His friend slept in so late, yet always looked exhausted when he finally dropped into his assigned seat.

He had mentioned it to Ignis, Prompto's constant state of exhaustion, but his Advisor had said not to worry. It was likely the stress of their senior year eating away at him. Prompto always had been the more emotional of the two; he likely was just blowing things way out of proportions worrying about exams and what they were going to do with the rest of their lives etc.

Of course that was easy for Noctis. As Crown Prince he had once choice. It wasn't really a choice; he had one path, to be ready to take over for his father. He couldn't understand the pressure that Prompto was feeling. Sure being King was not an easy path to take by any means, but it wasn't something he had to get good grades to get into. It wasn't something he had to go about dealing with job hunting, interviews, and if it was going to support him financially. There were so many things that Prompto had on his mind that Noctis knew he would never truly understand. Their lives were completely different.

But they were still best friends. That would never change.

"Oh. Mr. Argentum. Nice of you to join us before second period today."

"Sorry Miss. Conwell." Came the familiar chirp that was Prompto's voice.

He slid into his seat not too gracefully and dropped his chin right into his palm. "Mornin' Noct."

"Morning sleeping beauty. Miss that alarm again?"

"Yeah… something like that."

* * *

"I don't understand how you can sleep that much." Noctis brought up the subject again during their lunch period. "I told Ignis and he said its possible you might have mono or something. Here." Noctis reached forward and lightly placed his hand on Prompto's throat feeling around it gently.

Prompto's freckles were suddenly more prominent on his blushing face. "Uh… what'cha doing there buddy?"

Noctis frowned then shrugged and returned to pulling apart his lunch. "Iggy said that if you had mono you might have swollen lymph nodes. But your neck feels fine to me. Does it hurt or feel sore at all?"

"Nope!" The blonde gave an awkward laugh.

Noctis gave him a long look, but finally took a bite of his food. "Its just strange that all the years I've known you, you just now have this sleeping issue. I mean Prom, you look exhausted."

"I told you. I just stay up late studying most nights."

"But we don't even have tests or anything right now. What are you studying so much?"

"Just trying to keep up. Not all of us are geniuses."

The look Noctis gave him told him just how little he was buying that lie. But he was going to let it slide.

"You up for some gaming after school today?"

"I really have to - "

"If you say study I will have Gladio drag you over to my place."

"Please don't send Gladio after me…"

Though… could he take Gladio now? The mutation from the spider bite made him stronger, faster, and his reflexes were so much better. And he had that crazy spider sense now too. It would be interesting to see if he could take Gladio now. Of course he couldn't really challenge the Shield. His job was to keep Noctis safe from anything and everything, and in doing so that meant that he studied all potential attackers. Prompto remembered when Spidey first become big in the media. For weeks they had tried to make him into a menace that was attacking people. Gladio himself had gone out to search for the Spider-man. If Prompto ever challenged the big guy to a fight now there is no way he wouldn't recognize the way he fought was the same as the masked hero of Insomnia.

"Prompto!"

"Huh?" 

He looked up to see Noctis frowning down at him.

"Dude. If you aren't going to stay awake at school you might as well just stay home and sleep. I can get Ignis to write you a note or something."

"No I'm ok really!" Prompto bounced up with more enthusiasm then he had. He felt bad. He had been neglecting his time with Noctis.

Neither of them really had any friends. Except Gladio and Ignis. So if Prompto was constantly telling him no, odds were Noctis was just spending time alone in his own apartment all the time.

"You know what? I think I'm up for some King's Knight."

"You're on!"


	4. Rescue the Cactuar Child

That had been the plan. Really. There was nothing he wanted to more than to play video games with his best friend. But then his phone had vibrated with an emergency warning of a kidnapping in the area. People were supposed to keep a look out for a man in his late forties in a green suburban.

He and Noctis had only gotten in three rounds of King's Knight, before he made the lame excuse of having to get home because his stomach was feeling gross.

Noctis was amazing and told him that he could just stay at his place and he'd help look out for him. Make him some toast and get him some ginger ale or something. But Prompto just shook his head and said that he would feel better in his own bed before running out the door.

He had landed on three different vehicles matching the description of the kidnappers and still no luck. Also he was reminded how the majority of the citizens still hadn't quite warmed up to him. As he leapt off their cars and heard some not so friendly words shouted his way. It wasn't like he had done any damage to their vehicles!

Finally he spotted one parked behind a building next to some dumpsters. Someone had thrown a tarp haphazardly over it, but he saw the green glinting underneath. After checking to make sure the green suburban was in fact empty he crawled through a window on the top floor. It was an abandoned warehouse. Could this be any more cliché? Beneath him he heard a couple of men arguing.

"My job was to get the damn brat! You were supposed to write and plant the note!"

"You got the wrong kid! Way wrong! You were supposed to get that girl! And you brought a  _boy_!"

"Do you know how carefully guarded the Amicitia girl is? I couldn't get near her. But this kid was playing with her earlier and then he just walked right by me!"

There was a pause.

"He was playing with the Amicitia's daughter?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. Hey brat. What's your name?"

Prompto leaned forward trying to see who they were talking to. They had been after Iris? He needed to tell Gladio. Somehow. Without revealing how he knew that people were after his sister. Which would lead to him freaking out and – not the time. He needed to help this kid now.

"T- Talcott. Talcott Hester…"

_They had Talcott?!_

"Why were you playing with the girl?"

"Iris? She's my friend. We play all the time… Grandpa said it was ok…"

Enough of this.

Prompto leapt down and webbed the two men's feet to the cement floor. He had already punched both their lights out and webbed them in a cocoon hanging from the ceiling before they even knew what was happening.

He really did do the cocoon thing a lot…

Talcott was tied to a metal fold up chair. The poor kid was shivering in his Cactuar pajamas, but staring at Prompto with wide eyes.

"S-Spider-man?"

"Hey kid." Prompto approached him gently reaching behind Talcott to snap the ropes off his wrists, once again thankful for his newfound strength. "Lets get you back to your Grandpa ok?"

"You know my Grandpa?"

Crap. He had to be careful of those slip-ups.

"I heard you talking to those guys. The Amicitia family lives at the Citadel right? I can get you there."

"Thanks Spider-man!"

Carefully lifting the kid into his arms he shot a web, zipping them back to the rooftops. Talcott's laughter as they swung from building to building warmed Prompto's heart. This was an amazing experience that he felt no one could relate to. But sharing it with this kid who had just been through such an experience was fantastic.

When they were at the Citadel he landed through an open window on the same floor he knew that Iris stayed on. He assumed Gladio wouldn't be too far off. Someone familiar to come take Talcott would be nice. He didn't want to leave the kid alone.

"Where is your Grandpa?"

"Um… he's probably sleeping." Talcott looked around.

Under his mask Prompto gave a sad smile. This kid wasn't alone like Prompto had been at his age, but he definitely was fairly independent. It was hard not having parents. But there were people who cherished this small boy. Important people. Who no doubt were looking for him right now.

"TALCOTT?!"

That booming voice could only belong to one man.

"Gladdy. If you yell like that you'll just scare him." Iris's kind voice.

"Iris? Gladio?" Talcott turned excitedly as the door to the room opened revealing the Amicitia siblings.

Iris ran forward to hug Talcott, relief in her expression. Gladio looked relieved for a moment having found the kid, but then looked over at the stranger in the room. Someone who didn't belong with Talcott, and  _really_  didn't belong in the Citadel.

"Who the hell are you?" He growled.

"Just your friendly neighborhood Spider-man." Prompto gave a little salute like he'd seen Gladio's men do.

"Spider-man? The masked menace that swings around the town?"

"No Gladio!" Talcott ran forward hugging the large man around the waist. "He saved me from the kidnappers!"

"Kidnappers?" Gladio looked down.

"What happened Talcott?" Iris asked softly.

The boy gave a quick version of how his day had gone. As his story progressed Iris had gone from standing next to him, to hugging him, to crying silently as she listened. Where as Gladio went from angry to pissed judging by the subtle changes to his expression.

"Then I guess I owe you my thanks." He turned toward Prompto.

"No problem! Glad I was there in time!"

"We heard that there had been a kidnapping, but the kid hadn't been defined. We didn't want to jump to conclusions thinking it was Talcott… but we couldn't find him…" Iris explained. "One of the maids had just seen a child being taken."

"Hey he's safe now. And I'm sure he'll be a little more careful in the future." Prompto ruffled the kid's hair, who beamed up at him with a vigorous nod. "I need to talk to you though." He pointed at Gladio.

Raising an eyebrow the Shield nodded in understanding. "Iris. Why don't you go get Talcott something warm to drink. He's had a rough day. And make sure to find Jared."

"Right."

"Thanks Spider-man!" Talcott hugged his hero one last time before following his friend out the door.

"So?" Gladio looked over at him expectantly.

"I didn't want to scare them. And Talcott may have already figured it out. But the men who grabbed him were actually after Iris. Talcott was a fall back so to say. They mentioned a note, so I assume it was a ransom situation they were hoping for. But my point is, I know you're the big brother and all scary and stuff. But you need to keep an even closer eye on her now. Two eyes in fact."

Gladio's eyes widened considerably and the muscles in his arms seemed to suddenly grow as he clenched his fists.

Yeah… picking a fight with Gladio was definitely not a good plan.

"They wanted Iris? Damn."

Another siren blared in the distance. As an automatic reaction Prompto leapt into the windowsill ready to follow it.

"You really helped us tonight. Thanks." Gladio's gruff voiced was close behind him. "You be careful out there."

Prompto smirked even though he knew it was invisible with the mask on. "Of course I will! I can do whatever a spider can!" Then leapt out the window and swung away.

Watching the red and blue clad man slowly vanish in to the distance Gladio grunted. "Spiders get squished. A lot."


	5. A Lie Too Many

"Come on Noct!"

"Nope!"

"I said I was sorry!"

"How could you forget to login?"

Prompto had missed an event online that he promised Noct he would meet up with him. He could say, "Well I was stopping a man from shooting a bunch of people at the local mall."

But what had to come out of his mouth was, "I fell asleep early!"

"And you were  _still_  two hours late to school?"

Ignis had once informed Prompto that the blonde was a terrible liar. There was just no arguing it.

"I uh – I woke up at like two A.M. then was up studying till like six. I thought I could get some more sleep in and well - it didn't work out so well."

Noctis gave him a long hard stare. "Ok. Fine. Whatever." Then the Prince continued walking to his next class.

"Noct!"

"Enough Prompto!" Noctis suddenly spun on him. "Look. I don't know why you keep lying to me. I don't know why suddenly you can't seem to trust me. But whatever it is I hope it's  _really_  important."

"Its not that I don't - "

Noctis shook his head. "I don't want anymore lies. If you can't tell me the truth, then I don't care." And then the Prince disappeared into the classroom.

Prompto stood in the hallway staring at the empty space where his best friend had been standing.

What had just happened?

* * *

Slamming his apartment door shut Prompto chucked his backpack into the closet. What had just happened?!

Noctis didn't trust him anymore?!

It was true that Prompto had been lying. But it wasn't like he was doing something  _bad_  behind his friend's back.

He kicked at the table in the kitchen area, the wood of one of the legs splintering to bits as the whole table wobbled and crashed to the floor.

"Juuust perfect."

He collapsed onto his bed.

He thought the superhero thing was a  _good_  thing. And it was! He was saving lives! Like Talcott and all the other civilians he had helped in Insomnia. Who knows what would have happened to them had he not intervened. Being Spider-man was a good thing.  _It was_.

But it was destroying Prompto Argentum's life. His grades were basically all failing now. His part time job as a photographer for the local paper had stopped giving him as many hours since he often missed deadlines and appointments now. And Noctis…

Had Noctis given up on him? Or did he just need time away from Prompto? He had said he didn't care. Was that about Prompto? Their friendship? Or did he just mean he didn't care what the lies were about?

No. It was obvious. Noctis was sick of being lied to. Who wouldn't be? If they had switched places and Noctis was obviously lying to his face and disappearing for long periods of time Prompto would be devastated.

The police scanner beeped weakly from inside his backpack. He probably damaged it when he threw it. And the school laptop that he had been borrowing…

Taking off his over shirt he looked at the spider symbol stitched to his suit. The one he wore everyday – just in case. As much as it was hurting Prompto… Spider-man had a job to do.

* * *

"Have you heard from Prompto recently Noct?" Ignis asked as he was cooking dinner in the Prince's apartment.

"No. I'm not really talking to him much right now." He grumbled focused on his phone.

"I wonder if he's sick. The school called me today asking if I knew why he had been absent two days in a row."

Noctis looked up at his Advisor. Two days? He had been so mad at Prompto he had purposely been avoiding looking over at his seat. Sure he had noticed it was empty off handedly. But Prompto was often late. And then once he was focusing on school… it had slipped his mind.

He was a terrible friend. Despite how crappy of a friend Prompto had been lately, how could he have not noticed his absence for two days?

"Maybe he's sick or something?" Noctis shrugged.

Ignis hummed in consideration. "I had thought that too. But when I stopped by his place earlier today it was empty. The place was also a disaster, but that could be normal."

But it wasn't normal. Noctis knew. Prompto had always kept things clean and tidy.

"Did you try his cell phone?"

"It went straight to voicemail. He either has it turned off or it died again. Are you two fighting?"

"Kinda…" Noctis shrugged returning to his phone. But he couldn't focus on it now. There was no point.

Where was Prompto?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is only Chapter 5, but this story has twenty-three chapters written so far! I love Spidey-Prom very much and am always writing adventures for him. I hope you all love him as much as I do!


	6. Grand-Theft-Prince-napping?

This was stupid. Noctis scolded himself. Prompto was probably fine. Hiding out somewhere 'studying'. In every horror movie ever he always mocked the idiots that just  _had_  to open the door. Or  _had_  to go into the forest alone. It was an obvious bad choice. So what the hell was he doing walking around Insomnia after dark alone?

Looking for his idiot of a best friend.

Prompto was always on his phone. Always. And until a couple days ago he had never failed to answer when Noctis called or sent a text. Even if he was jogging, he answered while still running.

Initially this had seemed like Prompto having a tantrum. But then Ignis had expressed his 'slight concern'. And Prompto wasn't coming to any of their classes. Noctis had even checked in on his photography class, and he hadn't been in days now.

Before making any truly rash decisions he'd decided to try calling Luna.

"Noct, he's your best friend. You need to apologize."

"He's been lying to me though. Its so obvious."

"Did you really tell Prompto that you don't care anymore?" Her voice was as calm as ever, but he knew that she had that stern look on her face.

Closing his eyes he sighed. "Yeah. I did. Of course I didn't mean it."

"Of course not."

She knew as well as he did, sometimes he said things in the heat of the moment. All people did it. It's being human. But as a future King he couldn't do that. And to Prompto of all people… his friend who had self-esteem issues anyway. They never brought it up – who would? But Noctis was very aware of his friend's complex of believing he wasn't good enough. And for Noct to tell him he didn't care…?

"I'm going to go look for him."

"Be safe."

* * *

He'd had on a baseball cap and had the collar pulled up on his jacket hoping to hide his face.

But he really should have known better. He should have called Gladio. Or Ignis. Someone in the Glaive.

But now he found himself being dragged into the back of a car, after having been beaten on by some thugs. They had recognized him. Called him out for who he was.

The Crown Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum.

The moron who had no business walking the streets at night.

They were gross slime of the earth beings. They taunted at what they planned to do with him.  _To_  him. They asked how much his 'daddy' would pay to get a broken prince back. They were dragging him from the car toward a house on the side of town that Gladio had strictly forbidden him from going anywhere near years ago.

They had the door opened and tossed him onto the hard floor so that he smashed his already bruised cheek into the floor.

"Ready your Royal-ness?" One of them sneered.

Noctis wished with every fiber of his being that he could just disappear. Vanish. If only he could break his bonds with a flex of his arms like Gladio. He wasn't as strong as his Shield by any means. And he wasn't as fast as he'd like to be either. But he was still a fairly decent fighter. Gladio wouldn't let him leave the Citadel if he didn't know some self-defense. But these guys had caught him by surprise since he had been too focused looking for his friend.

"I know for a fact that this Prince has a really scary Shield that you are all probably going to be hearing from real soon."

Who was that new voice?

"It's the Spider!"

_Spider-man?_

"Kidnapping is always a crime." The voice continued. "But kidnapping someone from the Royal family? That's got to be way worse. Somehow. Is it like grand theft prince-napping?"

There was a lot of noise. Noctis couldn't turn his head to look. He was stuck lying on the floor facing the wall. His shoulders hurt so much that he couldn't shift around. The 'thwip' noise of Spider-man's webbing was somehow encouraging.

"You guys are really wrecking my suit here. Do you know how much that's going to cost?" The voice was light hearted. Playful.

_Familiar…?_

"Being a hero pays nothing by the way. So my suit repairs are coming out of my own basically empty pockets. Unless you're willing to pay? Hmm… thought not."

There was a loud cracking noise. Was that the door?

"NOCT!"

Oh. It was Gladio.

Thank the Six.

"Hey big guy! See you got my call!"

"Yeah. Thanks for the heads up."

"Anytime! That's what friendly neighborhood Spideys are for after - " his voice was cut off suddenly replaced with a grunt.

What was happening? Noctis had never felt so helpless and useless in his whole life. If only he could get free… he could help!

Suddenly it got really quiet.

A warm hand was on his shoulder. "Noct?"

"Gladio."

"Hang on."

There was a moment where the bonds were actually tighter, but then they suddenly snapped and were tossed away. Far gentler then he would have thought possible, Gladio turned him around and helped him sit up. The large man was examining him a little anxiously, but quickly calmed down.

"You look alright."

"Only a little hurt pride really." Noctis winced at the attempt to shrug. So maybe he was going to be a little sore, but considering what those brutes had planned to do, he was very much ok. "Where is Spider-man?"

Gladio glanced over his shoulder at the messy room. "Huh? Oh he said he was going to go secure those guys so they couldn't escape. Probably some cheesy web cocoon again."

Noctis nodded in acknowledgement as he looked around the room. It had been wrecked. The furniture was shattered; the curtains and the rods they hung on had been torn off the windows. But the most concerning thing was the blood splatters all over the walls and floor.

"Gladio are you ok?"

"Of course I am. They barely touched me."

With a quick once over the Prince realized that his Shield was indeed fine. A small scratch along his bicep, but it hadn't even drawn blood by the looks of it.

"Someone broke a nose," Gladio seemed to realize what Noctis was seeing. "That can be really bloody. And I am pretty sure someone's fingers will need medical attention. Bone broke through the skin."

"Gross."

"Everything ok in here?" Spider-man was leaning in the doorway.

"Thanks to you." Noctis nodded.

There was a quiet chuckle. "Nah. I would have been in trouble if it wasn't for your brute of a Shield."

Gladio grunted.

"But you called him right? And you came too. So thank you." Noctis got to his feet only a stumbling a little.

"Seriously. No biggie. Glad you're ok. Now I got to go. Places to be – baddies to web. You know how it is."

And then he turned back out the door and was gone.

Gladio walked Noctis out to the street where another car was just pulling up.

The Regalia?

Ignis stepped out and hurried over, his sharp eyes taking in the situation immediately. Asking a few questions about what hurt, what happened, did he need a painkiller, Ignis easily took the Prince from the Shield. Noctis almost didn't notice as Gladio began to walk off down the street.

"Gladio? Where are you going?"

"Just for a walk. I need to let off some adrenaline still."

Shaking his head he was about to close the door to the Regalia when he noticed that hanging from the roof were the men who had tried to kidnap him. Hanging in a webbed cocoon. Every bit as cheesy looking as Gladio predicted.


	7. The Shield Always Knows

It had been several months now that Gladio had known of Prompto's other life. When the Spider-man started hitting the tabloids as a 'Masked Menace" he and a few of the Glaive had been sent into the city to hunt down the vigilante. It hadn't taken long for the Shield to locate the target. But what he had found was not a menace like many people had called him. But the red and blue clad man was pulling a camera from a net of webbing and checking the pictures that it had taken. The camera looked familiar with its chocobo charm on it, but what really gave it away was the enthusiastic voice that came out from behind the mask.

"Oh, love the lighting!"

Prompto.

Spider-man was Prompto.

That scrawny wuss of a friend that Noctis had been friends with for years now was the superhero of Insomnia.

He'd debated what to do then, but decided to call off the hunt and return to the Citadel.

There was no way that Prompto would ever do something to harm the citizens, he was obviously as good a hero as Iris and Talcott had been trying to convince him of.

Then  _Spider-man_  had rescued Talcott.

And warned him of the potential danger Iris was in.

Less than an hour ago he had accepted a collect call from Spider-man warning him that Noctis had been taken and where to find him.

During the fight the banter that the Prompto-Spider-whatever had been giving was so clearly Prompto. How did Noctis not know? Surely he knew now?

But when it was all finished the Prince thanked the masked man as  _Spider-man_. He really didn't know.

Once Noctis was safely tucked away in the Regalia, with Ignis at the wheel, he turned to go look for the brat.

Those thugs were not that great of fighters. He would have trusted Prompto on a normal day to handle them with his handgun. But during the short fight that had just happened he noticed that the red and blue suit was darkened red in certain places, and that he was favoring his side quite a bit.

The idiot.

Down the street and just around the corner in an alley Gladio found his target. Crumpled next to a dumpster was Spider-man, a pool of blood slowly growing beneath him. Carefully checking the wounds to make sure he was moveable Gladio then lifted the hero into his arms and began to carry him home.

Seriously, between Noctis and Prompto he wasn't getting paid nearly enough to be a Shield.

But as he passed a newspaper stand he saw the headline "Spider-man Saves School Bus Full of Children on Bridge!"

He hadn't even heard of that incident at the Citadel. He was willing to bet if he called up Nyx that he wouldn't know either. The things that were considered 'minor' incidents never made it to the Crownsguard or Kingsglaive. If King Regis knew how little he heard about the crimes that took place he would be furious. But the King was busy with other matters that were important pertaining to Nifilheim. Nobody could blame him for focusing on that. But someday… it would be Noctis's job. And Gladio as his Shield would be responsible not only for protecting him, but making sure he took care of everything that needed attention.

That was probably why he chose to let Prompto continue his vigilante life as the Spider-man. It needed to be done. The people needed a hero that cared about them, the every day normal civilians. Not just the ones who were working at the Citadel.

In his arms Prompto's breathing went from pained to labored. Whatever injuries he had seemed to be getting worse. He needed to get the kid some first aid now.


	8. Much More Than A Soup

Everything hurt. Bad. Really bad. Not normal muscle soreness. Why…. Oh right. He'd gotten in the middle of trying to stop a gang war, then just a few hours later he had to rescue Noct from kidnappers.

Opening his eyes he realized that he was in his apartment.

And that his wounds were clean and bandaged.

And that –

His microwave was running?

"Morning. Or actually, its afternoon now."

Turning to look at his kitchen area Prompto saw Gladio standing in the center hovering near the microwave. The timer dinged and he opened to pull out a cup of steaming water, which he then poured into a waiting cup of ramen noodles. He put the lid back on it and placed the fork on top for good measure, before walking over to take a seat next to his bed.

"You're a real idiot you know that?"

Scowling Prompto tried to sit up, but a sharp pain flared in his abdomen.

"I wouldn't move too much if I were you. You got stabbed multiple times."

Nodding he laid back down. Yeah… that sounded right.

"You should have called me. Or Ignis. A  _lot_  sooner. The stab wounds were not from saving Noct. I can tell they were quite a bit older. You shouldn't have even jumped into that. You  _should_  have told us."

Prompto nodded. He knew. He had wanted to. But… he couldn't. He couldn't risk putting them in danger. As long as they were completely unrelated to his Spider-man identity no one would try to hurt them to use against him.

"Whatever reasons you have in your head right now are stupid."

"Hey - !"

"No. Prompto you may only consider yourself friends with Noctis, but Ignis and I value you as well. What happens to you is important to us. And the three of us were raised in the Citadel. We are trained to fight. Ignis and I more so than Noctis. Ignis is a first class medic. I have been on a battlefield, and have been in the thick of it more times then I care to count. We have experience in this that you don't have. Granted you have some now considering this alter ego you have created. But you can't do everything alone. You just can't."

Prompto felt the sting of tears trying to break out. He didn't  _want_  to do this alone. He hadn't  _asked_  to be bitten by that damn spider. But he had always been alone. Always. There was no reason for him to take this on any other way.

The door opened then shut quietly.

"Is he awake then?" Ignis's soft intellectual voice.

"Hey Iggy." Prompto called.

Because of course Gladio told Ignis. There was no way that he would have kept a secret from him. Those two were close.

"Has Gladio told you how foolish this endeavor was?"

"Yeah…"

"Excellent. Now I want you to know how proud I am of you."

Whaaat?

"Prompto," Ignis sat down next to Gladio. "A lot of people would have taken advantage of having super-human powers in ways that are dishonest. Some would have used it to make themselves famous and rich. The path you have chosen is honorable. Granted you handled it poorly. But it was still a noble path."

The tears were flowing freely now. If his arm didn't hurt so much he would wipe them away.

"From now on I want you to come to Gladio or I if you are in trouble. If  _anything_  is ever bothering you, we will be here to help."

Gladio nodded in agreement.

"You aren't alone Prompto. Remember that."

"Thanks guys."

After Ignis changed his bandages and Gladio made him some Cup Noodles to eat - the best food for healing up - they sat down to talk about his adventures and how he had gotten these spider qualities.

"So… does Noctis know too?" Prompto asked quietly. He can only imagine the wrath from his friend at being the last to find out.

"No. That is for you to tell him." Ignis replied.

"And you should. He's a big kid. He can handle it." Gladio agreed.

"It will be worse if you don't. And then you won't have to lie to him all the time."

Prompto reddened at that. "Oh. So you know about the lying?"

"Prompto. When Noctis is suddenly sleeping less and eating almost whatever I put in front of him I knew something was wrong. And he told me."

With a chuckle that ended in a sigh Prompto finally agreed. "Yeah. I need to tell him."


	9. Web-Travel Beats Walking Any Day

It took several weeks for Prompto to be back swinging around town. Apparently along with all his other cool new powers, fast healing was among them. Despite the obvious quick recovery, Ignis still insisted he stay down longer than he personally thought he needed to.

The moment the Advisor had gotten too preoccupied with looking over some documents and marking areas to reread for Noctis, Prompto was dressed and out the window.

Even though he had told Gladio and Ignis that he would tell Noctis the truth the opportunity never seem to come up. The Prince and he had apologized to each other at school the other day and things were back to normal on that front. Prompto also had told him no more lying.

Which is how he had intended to lead into the whole: "Hey Noct, guess who is the friendly neighborhood web-slinger?"

But they had been interrupted by a phone call from the Citadel.

And there hadn't been another good chance since then.

Now he was just finishing 'tying up' a bank robber case that had just been too easy and fun. As he was landing on top of nearby skyscraper his phone went off.

"Hey-o! Its Prompto!" He answered still in high spirits from the easy capture.

"Hey Prom, would you be interested in joining Glads and I in our training today? I think Ignis is going to be there too for some reason. I don't know. But Gladio said he thought it was about time you joined us."

"About time?" Prompto crouched on his perch overlooking the city below, watching the people swarm about unaware of his presence.

Was this Gladio's way of offering to train him to help out Spider-man? That was too good of an opportunity to pass up!

"Yeah! What time do you guys train?"

"In like fifteen minutes… I know this is really late notice though so its ok if you're a bit late. It takes a half hour alone from your place to walk to the Citadel - "

" _Tell that wuss that if he isn't here in ten minutes he's doing arm and leg work for an hour before training even begins."_  Gladio's voice came through loud and clear.

"I'm on my way!" Prompto yelped stashing his phone away and leaping off the building.

From where he was now the walk would be almost an hour to the Citadel, but that's by foot. By web? Well… he  _would_  make it ten minutes.

* * *

"Look who made it." Gladio grunted as Prompto tripped ungracefully into the training room.

He had swung through a window on the floor above and stashed his suit and backpack in one of the lockers outside the room. Hopefully the Glaive didn't do check ups on what was in there.

"On time too I might add." He smirked.

Gladio raised an eyebrow but before he could comment Ignis cut in. "Hopefully no traffic laws were broken in your rush."

"How did you even get passed the Kingsglaive outside in under ten minutes?" Noctis asked.

Stuttering for a believable answer Ignis finally sighed answering for him. "I believe Libertus is on duty currently. I will have words with him later."

"Just tell Nyx. He'll get him back in to shape." Noctis muttered.

Prompto hid his smirk and hurried over to one of the mats to stretch before they began.

A couple weeks ago he'd heard the story of how Gladio had got caught up in a meeting with his father and he'd assigned Nyx to handle the Prince's training for the day. Apparently the Glaive was just as ruthless as the Shield when it came to the importance of training properly.

"Nyx asked the other day if you wanted another lesson on warping." Gladio suddenly remembered. "He said that you really needed the practice."

"I hate warping…" Noctis groaned. "It makes my stomach queasy."

"That would likely be because you are doing it incorrectly." Ignis pointed out.

"You should do it Noct! I saw that demonstration that they had a few months ago. If you could warp like that then you wouldn't have to worry about getting jumped by anyone ever gain!"

"Not necessarily true, but it would certainly help." Ignis agreed.

"It would make protecting you easier for me," Gladio said. "And for the Spider-punk."

Prompto rolled his eyes at the clear jab to him.

"We should try to invite Spider-man to the Citadel for a thank-you or something, he was amazing. I wouldn't mind meeting him again at all." Noctis mused. "You could get some close-up pictures too Prom."

"Uh… I'm good thanks." The blonde looked away his face red.

Noctis gave him a confused look, but before he could ask further Gladio began the training session.


	10. Spidey-Merch

Their school had a dress code. It wasn't overly strict, but there were certain rules that everyone was required to follow. So it was really noticeable when someone went against the flow trying to find a different take on the code that wasn't breaking but a bit of bending.

For example, when Prince Noctis showed up in a red t-shirt with a familiar black spider symbol on it. He still had on his required slacks and blazer, but the shirt was very much noticeable underneath.

"What is  _that_?!" Prompto choked on his morning juice box.

Noct glanced down at his shirt – like he didn't know he was wearing it – like everyone in their class right now wasn't staring at him – and then back up at Prompto with a smirk. "There was a guy selling these near the arcade on my way in today and I had Ignis pull over so I could by one."

Prompto was gaping like a fish out of water. People were selling merch for him now?!

_WHAT?!_

"Do you want one? They were selling pretty fast but I can have Ignis go pick you up one."

"Uh… n-no I'm good. That's ok."

"I thought you were a fan of him?"

"I am! Spider-man's great! I just don't need a shirt…"

Noctis shrugged. "Your loss."

* * *

It became a trend at school. People were adjusting their uniforms just enough to show their "Spider Pride". If an outsider were to enter the school they would assume that their school mascot was an arachnid.

Even though it had been going on for weeks now Prompto still couldn't believe how popular the Web-Slinger was. Every time he saw someone with a shirt, bandana, scarf, he even saw that some girls were having necklaces made – he started blushing. He couldn't help it!

He was practically a celebrity! Not that anyone knew… but it still was amazing.

"I can't  _believe_  that you actually did it!"

"Its so cool!"  
"I think I want to get one too…"

Prompto heard a group of girls exclaiming over one of their friends by the lockers. The girl in the center was holding up the hem of her shirt showing off part of a tattoo of the Spider Symbol that was near her hip.

Yep. He was probably going to die of embarrassment.

And no one would know why.

Because it makes no sense that Prompto Argentum is overwhelmed by the Spider Fans.

"A couple of people are getting them now." Noctis said from next to him.

He'd been so focused on the girls he'd missed his friends appearance. "H-hey Noct! Yeah? That seems a little extreme… tattoos are permanent and stuff…"

"People just want to represent their Spider Pride. The papers have been harsh on him again lately."

Spider Pride was a thing… oh man…

And yeah. He'd seen the papers. Especially the one that was run by Dino Ghiranze. He didn't know what Spider-man had done to the man, but he was ruthless in his mission to make Spidey look like a local menace.

"I'm thinking of getting one myself." Noctis said.

"Getting a tattoo?!" Prompto turned to him with wide eyes. "Why?!"

"I want to support Spider-man too. He's done a lot for Insomnia that I or anyone else at the Citadel can do."

"Then write him a nice card or something! You can't get a tattoo for Spider-man!"

"Why is this upsetting  _you_  so much?" Noctis raised an eyebrow.

"Because!" Prompto racked his brain. "Because you're going to be King! And isn't there a law or something about royalty having ink?"

"Hmm… could be… I don't really recall one. I should probably ask Specs though. I mean Gladio has that tattoo."

"Yeah but he is the Shield. Not the Crown Prince." Prompto pointed out sensing he was gaining some ground here.

"I'll talk to Ignis. If he is against it then I maybe I won't."

Ignis being against something had never really deterred Noctis before, but Prompto chose to think positive.

Besides.

Noctis having a Spider-man tattoo was just too much for him to handle.


	11. Dancing Spider

Everybody seemed to be in a really good mood when Prompto made it to school that morning. Once again he'd missed his first class, but his teacher seemed resigned to the fact that he would still turn in his homework. And Noctis had stopped demanding answers, and just ignored the tardiness altogether.

The Prince was standing over by his locker smirking at his phone.

"Something funny?" Prompto leaned on his shoulder just as the video closed out.

Noctis looked over at him. "You haven't seen it yet? The whole school is buzzing with it."

"With what?"

"Someone posted this video last night." He handed his phone over.

Video was a bit shaky, as most were that were recorded by an amateur. Trying to ignore his inner cameraman he focused on what the video was actually about. It finally focused in on someone on top of a building…

Wait –

Oh Astrals no –

It was him. But not  _him_ , him. It was Spider-man.

And he was dancing.

From the angle that the camera was at it was clear that someone had taken this from the upper floor of an apartment complex.

The viewer could clearly see the wires of his headphones sticking out from under his mask, as Spider-man held his phone in one hand. And was dancing to some tune known only to him.

"Makes you wonder what kind of music Spider-man listens to huh?"

"Twenty One Pilots." Prompto whimpered.

"Really?" Noctis sounded surprised. "How do you know?"

Crap. He did it again.

Was this his time to tell Noctis he knew because he is Spider-man?

No. Definitely not. He wanted no part of this to be connected to Prompto Argentum.

"It was a guess." He grinned as he handed the Prince back his phone. "Who doesn't listen to them, right?"

"I guess that's true… though you seemed to come up with that pretty fast Prom."

_Did he know?_

Gladio and Ignis wouldn't have told. They both have that stupid – "you need to learn to handle this on your own" - mentality.

"Its… Its just what I would have been listening to."

"You do like that techno-y dubstep type stuff."

"Everything you just said is wrong."

"You don't like that stuff?"

"I like all different kinds of music. But what you group together as genres is wrong."

Noctis shrugged. "I don't really get that genre stuff. I hear a song, and I like it or I don't. I don't care what it's categorized as."

They'd had this argument before and Prompto realized after the third time they'd had it, that it was a lost cause. The Prince grew up with orchestral music as was befitting a Prince who needed to know 'the classics' for his extra lessons of useless stuff he needs to know but will never use.

"Someday I'm going to teach you the ways of music."

"Someday you're going to realize that I don't care." Noctis chuckled. "Though I am interested in who managed to get this close to Spider-man." He was watching the video again.

"He helped save me the other night you know. Gladio was there to. He said he called him, isn't that weird? I didn't know they had each others numbers."

"Maybe its all part of the Protect Prince Noctis Plan, Gladio, the Kingsglaive and Spider-man are all secretly working together."

_That would be so cool…_

Noctis rolled his eyes. "Probably. But Gladio wouldn't give me his number. I wanted to invite Spider-man to a dinner at the Citadel as a thank you or something."

Prompto tripped over his own feet as they were walking to class. "Wha- why? He's Spider-man! He's probably busy. Or he'd have to leave suddenly to save someone."

"That's true…" Noctis mused. "We should do something for him though. The guy helps a lot of people."

Prompto felt himself blushing at the praise, but then they passed a group of girls giggling over the Dancing Spider-man video.

"Maybe if you really wanted to help him you could get that video taken down. Its probably embarrassing for him."

"Anyone who swings around the city in red and blue spandex can't possible be embarrassed by a little video of some harmless dancing." Noctis laughed.

Well. There was no argument to that was there?


	12. Enough is Enough

"Homework is important. I will get this done."

That was the fifth time he had said it. Out loud. To himself. In his empty apartment. While staring at his blank computer screen. He'd forgotten what his paper was supposed to be about four times now.

"Homework is important. I will get this done."

No he wouldn't.

He knew it wasn't happening.

What was it again?

Something about the founding king of Insomnia… Oh! He was supposed to express how the past kings would view Insomnia today.

How dumb was that? Who cares what they would think now?

Except maybe  _"Wow - you all are still fighting the Nifs?"_

Maybe he shouldn't write that.

His phone went off.

"Hello?!"

Ok. That was a little desperate.

"You ok?" Noctis asked.

"Noct?! Yeah! Sorry… this paper is kicking my ass."

"Sounds like you need a break."

"That would be amazing..." He glanced over at the mask that seemed to be watching him from the edge of his desk. "But - "

" _But_  if you make an excuse and don't come I will use my new warping skills to come to your place and drag you out."

"You've been practicing your warping!?"

"Come find out. You've missed training the last few days."

"On my way!"

* * *

Noctis wretched onto the mat.

"I knew you didn't eat the lunch I made for you." Ignis sighed.

"Ew – Iggy! You looked?"

Gladio helped the Prince back to his feet. "You haven't missed any lessons with Nyx have you?"

Once Noctis had rinsed his mouth clear he shook his head at Gladio. "I've been going everyday."

The Shield grunted. "Well you have improved. And you've been working a lot this last hour. Unlike someone else I know."

Prompto suddenly found the need to retie his boots.

"Just because you don't look at me doesn't mean I'm not looking at you."

"Gladiooo I've been busy! You know that!" Prompto flopped onto his back dramatically.

"Yeah? Doing what?" Noctis glared over at his friend.

"Wha? School and stuff."

"And stuff? Stuff that Gladio knows?" Noctis looked over at his Shield. "Well?"

"Noct, I think that the use of your magic is draining on - "

"Shut up Ignis." He growled.

Prompto got to his feet stepping up to his friend. "Hey! Don't yell at them. They haven't done anything." His voice was firmer than any of them had ever heard from the blonde.

The other three stared at him.

"Prompto…" Ignis rested a hand on his shoulder. "Now may be a good time - "

"To leave? Yeah."

Prompto was angry. But not at Noctis, though his outburst was uncalled for. But it was likely brought about by the stress on his magic.

The only person he was actually mad at was himself. Noctis was obviously still upset about the secret keeping. They had been getting along well enough recently but they also had just been avoiding the subject.

He needed to tell Noctis.

Just get it over with and finally tell him.

What was holding him back?

The fact that Noctis might be pissed about him hiding such a big secret?

The fact that knowing he was Spider-man may make him lose respect for the local hero?

The fact that somehow this could put the Prince in danger?

How would it really put him danger though? Anymore than the danger he was already in just by being royalty? Not likely.

This was getting ridiculous. It was putting a strain on their friendship that wasn't necessary.

He was going to do it.

For real this time.


	13. Nemesis Intro

In the long run he really shouldn't have been surprised this is the way his day was going. And in all honesty, he wasn't surprised. Just very disappointed. He'd totally missed school. So much for that. He'd had to cancel another gaming tournament with Noct. Of course. All because some guy was running around saying that he was Spider-man's  _nemesis_  and causing chaos.

And the cackling. The guy wouldn't stop cackling.

" _Spider-man, Spider-man, friendly neighborhood Spider-man_!"

Though the song he kept singing was definitely growing on him.

"Come on… can't we stop running around and just talk this out?" Prompto called, as he swung around a corner in hot pursuit. "Maybe over a Choco-latte or something?"

The strange man that was dressed like a child that was born of an elf and a tonberry cackled. Again. And he was floating around on some hovering board type thing. Which admittedly looked super-cool.

"Isn't it just a mocha then?"

"No! Choco-latte! Like a chocobo themed latte!"

"Those dumb birds?"

"Now that's crossing a line."

Spider-man shot out a line of webbing and finally caught onto the underside of the board. With a tug, he pulled the device out from under 'his nemesis' sending him sprawling onto the pavement below. It wasn't that far of a fall so Prompto felt no need to catch him. After all.

The man insulted Chocobos.

_To his face._

No one gets away with that.

With the man still on the ground Spider-man landed on the street light nearby and began securing him down with more webs. Just as he was opening his mouth to make a comment along the lines of how this one was all "Webbed up." Which he still thought was funny – despite Ignis eye rolls and Gladio's groans. A strong force knocked him to the pavement along side his target.

Before he could push himself back up he saw the boot of the green man come crashing down on his face.

Definitely a broken nose. Probably a black eye. Maybe even two.

"It was nice playing with you Bug-Splat!"

"That's no where close to how my name sounds…" Prompto groaned.

* * *

"This is a good time to say – you should see how the other guy looks – just so you know." Gladio peered into his face.

Which after looking in the mirror he realized how grotesque he truly looked with a swollen lip, black eye, and a broken nose.

"He looked like the love child of a goblin and a tonberry." Prompto grumbled.

Gladio finally winced. "Yeah that's gross."

"Prompto, you realize I need to reset your nose now. Unless you want it to stay like that…"

"No Iggy… please fix it."

"It's going to hurt - "

"It hurts now!"

"Just a precaution."

Before Prompto could respond Ignis reached over and realigned his nose.

"OW! MOTHER OF CHOCOBO EATING SIX!"

Gladio just stared at him for a moment. "I literally don't know what that means."

"It means I'm in  _pain_  dammit!"

Ignis sighed. "You know the drill by now Prompto. Ice and rest. I have an appointment at the Citadel with Noctis soon. I'm afraid this whining will have to go on without me."

"Iggggyyy…."

"Yes?"

"Thanks…"

"Of course Prompto. Please try to be more vigilant in the future."

"Yeah yeah…"

Once Ignis was gone Gladio had fetched a frozen bag of corn to put over his eye.

"Aren't I supposed to use a steak for a black eye?"

"You could get an infection in your eye with a raw steak. That's a cliché that could make you blind."

"Alright alright… Corn's great too…"

"So when are you going to tell Noctis the truth?"

"Why do you think I am?" Prompto pouted.

Gladio smirked. "Well, you could try to explain your face to him some other way. I just assumed you would use this as a lead in to that conversation."

"I don't want to use this as a lead in! I want it to be something cool! Like if he gets in danger again I'll swing in and save him then be like 'Hey wanna know my secret identity?'"

"That sounds like a pick-up line."

Prompto froze. Could he use that?

"I didn't say it was a good line, and you can't go around picking up girls as Spider-man you idiot."

"Awww…. Glads! Why not?"

Gladio just stared at him.

"Fine."

"So how are you going to tell Noct for real?"

"I have a plan."


	14. Take the Money and Run

Of course he didn't have a plan.

Who actually believed he, Prompto Argentum, had ever planned anything in his life? He did  _plan_  on telling Noctis the truth. How he was going to go about telling him was still up in the air.

Up in the web?

Nah. That one didn't work.

Speaking of work…

He made sure his mask was safely stowed away before walking into Dino Ghiranze's office.

"Hey kid! Got me some photos of the Spider?"

"Yeah! Here." He pulled out the manila envelope that held the 11 x 14 photos of Spider-man in action.

Dino gave a critical eye over the photos before nodding with a smirk. "These are pretty decent. I'll give you fifty gil."

"What?! You're basically robbing me!"

"What does a high schooler need with that kind of gil anyway?" Dino leaned back in his chair.

"I rent an apartment on my own! So that gil goes toward rent, bills, food!"

"Alright alright." Dino sighed. "Listen kid. Quite frankly you're the best photographer we got. But you're still freelance. I can't hire you till you've at least graduated. But I will continue to buy any photos of Spider-man as long as they at least of this quality. Or better.

"Thank you Mr. Ghiranze." Prompto muttered. Fifty gil wasn't worth it though…

"Call me Dino! And have my secretary write you a check on the way out!"

Prompto nodded before taking his leave.

When the secretary offered him a check he saw that it was  _not_  fifty gil. But fifteen hundred gil.

He really wanted to take the money and run.

But that would be wrong…

Darn.

"Um… ma'am. I think there was a mistake. Mr. Ghi – Dino – said that he was paying me fifty gil… this is way more than that."

She chuckled. "Dino says a lot of things. But honestly he can't even pay freelancers that low a fee. And he sent me a text of how much to really pay you. Don't worry. That check is valid."

"Thanks!" He looked at the check and its digits again.

A real paycheck.

Sorta.

But still!

He ran out of the office and straight to the bank to get it deposited.

And Gladio said he couldn't be an adult!

If he can stop three bank heists, and muggings every other day, he can do other adult things like get a paycheck!

Noct and he were going to be graduating soon. Noctis would have to take on more duties as Prince and Prompto was going to have to get a real job. Not just freelance photographer.

And being Spider-man paid less than nothing. Considering how much he had to spend on first-aid and stuff to stitch his suit back together sometimes… it was costing him almost just as much to live in his apartment.

Slinging his backpack over his shoulder he hurried down an alley so he could scale the wall.

Once he pulled his mask on and his street clothes were safely stashed away he leapt off the building and began swinging among the skyscrapers.

"Yeah! Its web-time!" He cheered as he did a flip before shooting out another web and swinging down another street.

Sure being Spider-man cost him his time, money, and social life, but it was so worth it.


	15. Pictures of Spidey

"Mom! Mom! Take a picture! Look there he goes!"

Prompto swung sharply to the left and clung to the side of the building. Looking down he saw a small boy with his mom. The woman looked like she was struggling to learn how to use the camera fast enough so as not to miss her chance.

With a chuckle he stuck a web to the building and eased himself down to the sidewalk. The closer to them he got the wider the boy's eyes got.

"Whoa… Spider-man!"

"Heya kid!" Prompto crouched down so he was eye level. "Care to take a picture with me?"

"PLEASE?! Mom! Its ok right?!"

She nodded. "Of course. Thank you Spider-man!"

"Of course! I have no pictures with fans!" He pulled his phone out and set it to selfie mode. "Say 'wall-crawler!'"

"Wall-crawler!" The boy cheered.

They did the same with the mom's phone and after she thanked him profusely they moved on. But unfortunately a huge line of people had formed already ready with their phones out.

_Oh look what I've started…_

He stood on that spot on the sidewalk for over an hour taking pictures and posing with people. He never would have guessed he had so many fans and it just warmed him up inside. A few girls showed up and asked if they could get a kiss from Spider-man, which he managed to laugh off with a 'sorry ladies, the mask doesn't come off'. But underneath the mask he was blushing so much he was sure that it would show through his mask if it wasn't already red.

As if his day wasn't already embarrassing enough… he saw a certain car pull up.

A certain very recognizable car.

It was Noctis's car.

And Gladio and Ignis were with him.

_Whhhhyyy…_  Prompto wanted to cry. Just a little.

When people saw the Prince they immediately greeted him with friendly waves and polite greetings. Also they parted like the Red Sea as he walked toward Spider-man.

Noctis was smiling, which was odd enough in public. He was usually more serious.

"Hey Spider-man! Does royalty get to take pictures too?"

Prompto opened his mouth, closed it. Then finally managed. "Of course. I don't play favorites."

Noctis swung an arm over his shoulders and took a selfie with the local hero. "Thanks Spider-man, for saving me that day. I wanted to invite to a dinner at the Citadel as a thank you."

Well he couldn't say no to that? Could he? No… he couldn't. Probably. Glancing over to where Gladio and Ignis were waiting he saw the Advisor was smirking as the Shield was full heartedly laughing at the situation.

The jerks.

"Sure! Sounds like a good time! I'd love to try food that our royalty eats!"

"Great! I'll have Ignis plan it. Ignis is my Advisor over there." Noctis gestured toward where the spectacled man was standing.

"Seems like a stand up guy." Prompto nodded, sincerely hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he was.

"And Gladio and you seemed to be in contact before. He said you called him? So when we have a plan I'll have him contact you."

"Uhh – perfect! Love it! Super excited!" He nodded vigorously.

Suddenly jerking his head to the left he pretended like something caught his attention.

"Ah – I got to go. Sorry folks!" He waved at the other people who had been waiting to have their picture taken with him. "But duty calls! Got baddies to web and such!"

Before anyone could say anything else, especially a certain Prince, he shot out a web and swung up a building quickly climbing over and disappearing from view. Taking the longest route possible to his apartment, making sure to pick up his backpack along the way, he swung in through the window before collapsing face first onto his crappy bed.

"Whhhhy do I make bad choices?!" He groaned into his pillow.

A moment later his phone rang.

"You know you've  _got_  to tell him now right?" Gladio grunted.

"Yeah yeah I know!" He knew his voice was super whiney.

"This should be entertaining."

"Shut uuuup." He threw his phone.

A second later he heard it connect to the wall and shatter.

"Great. Juuust great."


	16. Insta-Snapper-Tweety-Book

"Aaaaand posted." Prompto cackled looking at his phone.

Not even five seconds later his phone began ringing with chocobo warks. "Heyo! Its Prompto!"

"I was just informed by one of the Kingsglaive that  _Spider-man_  has an  _epic_  Insta-snapper-tweety-book-whatever and he posts multiple times a week." Gladio answered.

"Hmm…" Prompto hung upside down from a skyscraper that had a great view of the Citadel. "I've heard that the Spider has just reached thirty-five million followers. Word on the street anyway."

"You realize that people have way of tracing these things. I'm not too worried about people trying to track down a certain Chocobo Brain, but there are probably more than a few people interested in tracking down the local hero."

"That's nonsense. Its just social media."

"You're a tech-guy. You're telling me its impossible?"

Prompto didn't really have to think it over. He knew that every device that Noctis owned had to go through a protection process that Ignis himself handled.

"No… you're right. I'll delete the account later."

"Glad you still have some brain cells."

Deciding that didn't dignify a response he just hung up before going on his evening patrol around Insomnia.

* * *

There hadn't been any disturbances that night so it was a rare occurrence that he made it home before midnight. In fact – it was still before elven! He could still take a shower without disturbing the tenants below him!

"Woohoo! Bath time!" He shucked his suit off and ran to the tiny bathroom.

Not even two minutes under the wonderfully steaming hot water, and he heard someone at the door.

"Never fails – get in the shower and there's a knock at the door."

He's pretty sure he butchered that quote.

Whatever.

Pulling on some sweatpants he wrapped the towel around his shoulders and answered the door as he rubbed at his hair.

There was a couple of girls standing in his door way.

He honestly thought it was going to be the landlord demanding the monthly bill. Two weeks early. As usual.

They were staring intently at a phone in their hands and then looking up at Prompto.

"Uh – um. Hi? Can I help you?" He knew his voice was oddly high pitched. It always did that around pretty girls.

Both of the girls were eyeing him up and down a little too thoroughly. Why hadn't he grabbed a shirt? He  _knew_ they were probably noticing the silver scars that were left from when he was heavier as a kid. Was it too late to try and cover up with the towel? That would probably be weird…

"Yeah we were thinking about renting the apartment down the hall but the landlord won't let us in to have a look before next week."

"We were hoping we could look around yours? They are probably similar."

"Wha - ? Yeah! Sure…. NO!" He closed his door a little more. "Uh sorry. This place is a mess. Single guy and all. No place for a couple of ladies to be walking about."

And his Spidey suit was definitely lying on the floor just outside the bathroom door…

One of the girls gave a smile grin and nodded while the other rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"You seem nice, maybe another time?" The smiling one offered.

"Uh… sure. Maybe. Try me some other time." Did he just repeat what she said?

"Bye blondie!"

As he was closing his door he heard the grumpier one say, "No way."

"He was the right height! And did you see those abs?"

"He could barely speak a whole sentence without stuttering."

_How rude._  Prompto huffed before closing his door.

Who were those girls comparing him too anyway?

As he was walking back the bathroom he noticed his suit still thrown haphazardly on the floor.

_Spider-man._

It was literally what Gladio had just been talking about. They had been really intent on that phone. They were tracking him somehow through his social media. Scrambling over to where his phone was charging by his bed he immediately deleted the account.

It would have been nice if those girls were  _actually_  moving down the hall though. But he wasn't that lucky.

Though it was pretty funny that the one thought that there was no way that he was Spider-man. Part of him realized he should probably be offended, but he chose to be amused by it.

Glancing at his phone he realized he still had time to grab a quick shower.

"At least I still get that much."


	17. Of Pizza and Peace

"I still can't believe Gladio has his number and won't share." Noctis groaned as he leaned back on his couch.

He and Prompto had been playing some racing game for hours now and it was starting to get dull.

"Its probably a respect of privacy or something." Prompto replied from where he was hanging off the couch upside down, his feet over the headrest near the Prince's head.

"Its not like I would give it out to everyone." Noctis sighed. "Well anyway he's coming to the Citadel for a banquet. You're coming right?"

"Uh – what?" The blonde rolled so that he landed with his butt on the carpeted floor.

"To the banquet? That Spider-man is the guest of honor at?"

"I didn't realize I was invited…"

"Of course you are. I know you're not as big of a fan as the rest of us. But he saved me that night. And he saves a lot of people, so he deserves some sort of thanks."

"I'm sure he'd be fine with a nice thank you card."

Noctis chuckled.

"Seriously though! Not everyone likes the showy-ness that goes with royalty."

Leaning forward the Prince resting his elbow on his knee, and his head on his hand. "You have a problem with showy royals?"

"They  _can_  be kind of a pain in the ass…" Prompto sighed.

His Spidey-sense alerted him to the attack but he allowed Noctis to tackle him to the floor pinning him down with a pillow to the face.

"If you feel like taking that back I may be so inclined as to share that pizza that'll be in five minutes."

The pillow was pulled back enough so that the blonde's answer could be heard.

"You may be so inclined as to share? Royalty has to use fancy words too huh?"

And the pillow was back over his face.

"I don't think that was an apology."

Prompto poked his ribs so that he would pull the pillow back again.

"Did Ignis give you your monthly allowance yet?"

"No why?"

"Because I know for a fact that you spent your last bit of gil at the arcade yesterday."

Noctis rolled off of him with a muttered curse. "So you're apology for insulting the Prince of Insomnia is buying me a pizza."

Prompto chuckled. "Sounds pretty fair. Just like they settle it in court. Right?"

"Yep. That's why we haven't settled things with the Nifs yet. They refuse to buy us pizza. I'll have to mention it to my dad."

A moment later the doorbell rang and Prompto's phone went off at the same time. Tossing his wallet at his friend he headed for the hall to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Ignis has a date set for the Thank-You Spider-Splat banquet."

"You know – it really hurts me when you call me that."

"Its next Saturday."

"I have a meeting with Mr. Ghiranze Saturday afternoon!"

"Make it work kid." Then he hung up.

Prompto bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment.  _Ahh what was he going to do?_

"Hey! I  _will_  eat all this pizza." Noctis called.

"No you won't!" Looking back at his phone he debated sending Ignis a text for advice on how to deal with his busy schedule, but then his Spidey-sense went off. Unsure of what it was alerting him too he immediately ran for Noctis determined to protect his friend. He took off so fast on the wood paneling in his socked feet he slid almost hitting the floor, but he scrambled for a moment before making it to the counter where Noctis had set the pizza.

The Prince stood there having watched the whole thing with a raised eyebrow. "Geez, I'm not that fast of an eater. Calm down."

Looking around Prompto tried to figure out where the danger was lurking, but the tingling of his super senses had eased up. Whatever it was had either passed on or was waiting for another opportunity. Was someone after Noctis?

Or were they after Prompto?

Was it possible someone knew to look for Spidey here?

Either way he needed to stay alert. Without any actual disturbances happening, and many looks out the window, he decided to just play it cool. No need to worry his friend when nothing was happening.

Later he realized that while they were having dinner, or at any point that night, it would have been a great time to sit down and talk with Noct about his alter ego.

But of he course he didn't.

What if Noctis hated him for it once he finally told him? For lying? For some other reason that Prompto had yet to think of?

He wanted to enjoy this normalcy of their friendship while he could.

Odds were that it might not last too much longer.


	18. Almost Like A Real Prince

It was the day of the dinner at the Citadel. Gladio had managed to convince Noctis to have it changed to more of a banquet. That way there would be more people, more distractions, and a better chance of Prompto being able to the "ol' switchery-oo" into his Spidey suit when needed.

The Prince had initially been against it, not wanting to overwhelm the hero. But once his Shield had insisted that it would just be too awkward otherwise, he gave in. Prompto received a text from Noctis while he was on the phone with Gladio about Spider-man coming to the banquet.

It seemed easy enough.

Show up as himself, as normal Prompto Argentum.

At some point make a quick and unnoticed exit and don the suit.

Make a grand appearance as Spider-man.

Claim there was some 'hero work' needing to be done.

Strip out of the super suit.

Show back up as Prompto.

Easy enough.

Probably.

* * *

"No seriously! I was invited by the Noct – I mean the Prince! He invited me via text. See?" Prompto was showing his phone to the guard at the gate, but it was doing him no good.

"Like I could let you in because of a text on your phone. Move along kid." The guard had not moved, just glared down at Prompto briefly before looking bored and back toward the road.

"Aw come on! He's going to be mad if I don't show up! I'm here all the time to train with him and Gladio? The Prince's Shield? And Ignis too!"

"Just because you know their names doesn't mean anything. Anybody could look up that information."

"I'll just call Noct! That'll show ya!" Prompto fumbled with his phone for a moment.

There was a long awkward moment of standing there staring at the guard as Noctis did not pick up the phone. "Uh… he's probably busy just now… but this is his real number!"

"Hey Blondie."

Prompto jumped slightly at the new voice. Looking over he saw that one of the Kingsglaive had shown up. He looked super familiar…

"Nyx!" The blonde sighed in relief.

"I'm here to escort you to the Prince's chambers."

"You know this brat?" The guard looked suspiciously between the two men.

Nyx nodded. "Yeah. You could say he's the prince's best friend. He's here all the time. Even has been nominated as an honorary member of the Crownsguard? You really don't know who Prompto Argentum is?"

The guard looked baffled. "Uh no – well. I'm sorry sir!" He gave a short bow to the blonde before opening the gates for them.

"You're sure lucky Ignis sent me." Nyx chuckled.

"Iggy did?"

"He thought you might have a few problems getting in. Security is a little tighter than normal with the banquet tonight and all."

"I didn't think about that."

"And neither did our Prince it seems. He should know that a  _text message_  wasn't going to grant you entry into the Citadel…" The Glaive rolled his eyes.

"Heh… yeah I guess that was pretty poor planning."

"Extremely."

"What did the runt do now?"

Nyx smirked. "Hey Gladio. Found him pestering the gate guard. Ignis sent me to dump him on the Prince."

"I'm headed that way myself." Gladio gestured down the hall further. "I'll take him."

"Thanks. I do have a few more things on my list to do today beyond babysitting."

"Hey!"

Nyx chuckled at the blonde's puffed up cheeks before taking his leave.

As they were walking toward Noctis's rooms Prompto sighed. "I never imagined it would be this hard to get to Noct."

"You have to remember his position."

"Sometimes it seems impossible to forget… while other times…"

"He doesn't act too princely."

"Spoiled? Yes. Princely? No."

They were laughing as they stepped into Noctis's main living space. It wasn't used nearly as much now that he had his own place in the city. But it was still his. Minus the mess that seemed to take over his apartment the days Iggy didn't stop by. The TV was on with a video game paused on screen.

"Oooh someone's been nerding out." Prompto called out.

"You better not touch that!" Noctis's voice came from the bathroom.

Gladio snorted. "You kids play nice. I've got some security details to go over for tonight." In a firmer voice he gave Prompto a hard stare. "Make sure he's ready in time. His highness tends to procrastinate getting dressed for these things."

"Yessir!" He gave a mock salute as the Shield rolled his eyes and shut the door.

A moment later Noctis stepped out looking around. "Did Gladio leave?"

"Yep! He said to be sure your suited up in time!"

Noctis rolled his eyes before collapsing on the couch and picking up his game controller.

"There sure is a lot of attitude around here today." Prompto commented perching on the armrest next to him.

"Yeah?"

"Every single person I've spoke to so far has rolled their eyes at something that was being said."

"Everyone's just a bit tense. Always happens when there's a big thing like tonight."

"If it's so stressful, why do it?"

"Well… they're always for a reason." Noctis was quickly making stealth kills on his game but Prompto could tell that he was really thinking about his words too. "Sometimes it's a treaty, sometimes just to kiss up politically, but sometimes they're for appreciation. Birthdays, anniversaries, or just celebratory. They're tedious sure, and they stress the hell out of everyone in the Citadel. But they aren't for  _us_. They're for others. Tonight is in appreciation for someone who has helped the citizen's of Insomnia. Do I want to get dressed up in a stiff suit and make polite conversation all night? Of course not. But it's totally worth it if it brings to everyone's attention how much we need to be thankful for him."

Prompto felt a lump forming in his throat.

Wow.

"That's pretty awesome of you Noct." He said quietly.

"It was my idea, but I'm not the one who does all the preparation. The staff probably hates me right now."

The blonde shook his head. "I doubt it."

Who knew that their Prince was more than a lethargic nerd?

That was… actually pretty moving. For him anyway.

"What are you crying?"

"No! I'm just surprised that you actually know how to act like a real Prince!"

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?!"

The pillow that was thrown at him was too easy to dodge.


	19. Making an Entrance

It was hard not to act like a total commoner when such finery surrounded him. Extravagant food, music, clothes, decorations, and a giant fish tank with a variety of elegant looking fish and strange silvery eels. He was pretty sure that he had read about those somewhere, but nothing was coming to mind so he moved on after snapping a few photos, careful that his flash was off so as not to scare the fish.

The invitation list apparently had not gone out to any other commoners however. Prompto recognized almost everyone from tabloids and files that Noctis occasionally had to go through from Ignis. Being that as it may, that meant the Prince himself was almost impossible to get near.

Which had been the point of having this thing as more of a party than a dinner, so that the blonde could sneak out easier. But he couldn't help feeling a bit lonely. While he understood obviously that Noctis was a prince with royal responsibilities, he wasn't used to having to share him. At school people basically stayed out of his way now having realized that Prompto was the only one Noctis really felt comfortable around.

But it was hardly fair for him to be missing the Prince now.

Especially after all the times that he had up and disappeared on him for Spidey duties.

Which, speaking of…

"Are you prepared to make your grand entrance?" Ignis was next to him suddenly.

"Heya Specs. You betcha."

"Excellent. Follow me."

"I figured Gladio would lead me out."

"Gladiolus is the Prince's Shield. At events such as these he remains by Noctis's side for the entirety of the night."

"Oh yeah… I guess this stuff can attract all sorts of crazy people."

"Indeed. You never know when a crazy man will come swinging in spandex."

Prompto snorted. "I was  _invited_."

Ignis chuckled. "Yes you were. Now go get ready."

The Advisor had led him to a room that was on the same side of the Citadel as the place where the party was being hosted. It also had a wonderful balcony. Perfect for spider jumping.

Quickly stripping from his suit that he'd worn to the banquet he pulled his mask out of his camera bag. Once his bag, and suit was safely stored in the corner of the room he slipped out the balcony and made his way to the banquet hall. It was easy to find considering all the light and noise coming from it. A window was even propped open up high.

Whether it had been intentional or something Ignis had rigged for him he wasn't sure. But either way he was grateful. Swinging in he landed with possible a little more flair than necessary. But the surprised look on people's faces made it worth it, especially Noctis's.

"Someone call for a party clown? I can definitely juggle, but animal balloons are still beyond me."

The crowd began to applause, which Prompto was only too happy to offer an exaggerated bow to.

"Spider-man! Thank you so much for coming." Noctis took a step forward, Gladio smirking a few feet behind him.

"Of course! Not often I get invited to a party as big as this one."

"We are pleased to have you, help yourself to the food and beverages." Ignis appeared behind Prompto.

"Thanks, I mean I may or may not have had some beef jerky on the swing in. But I'm sure whatever you guys are serving is waaay better."

"Undoubtedly." Ignis sighed.

"You can eat and swing around the city at the same time?" Noctis asked sounding more than a little impressed.

"Oh yeah! Got to get that protein. Super hero work burns a ton of calories."

"Sounds like a good work out." Gladio grunted.

"It really is."

"So do you have like an arch nemesis or something?" Noctis asked, his voice a little quieter than before.

Prompto smirked under the mask, the Prince was nerding out.

"Nah. No one can keep up with me enough to count as a nemesis." Prompto shrugged with a laugh, but froze when his warning went off in his head.

"Aw… You're breaking my heart Spider-man."

Suddenly all the lights went out and the windows shattered.


	20. Worry Regardless

Acting purely on instinct Prompto grabbed Noctis and zipped them across the room near where he knew one of the exits were. Once he knew his friend was safely out of the way he shot a web that wrapped around Gladio and pulled him over. The Shield amazingly managed to stay on his feet, quickly realized the situation and dragged Noctis out the door.

"Spider-man…. Come out come out wherever you are!" The cackling voice was heard above the chaos of all the guests scrambling about.

"Hey! It's the Green Elf Man. Wanna take this outside?" Prompto shot a few strands of web out to distract him and led him toward the window.

Once it was clear that the villain was following him he swung out the window away from all the citizens.

"Is there a reason you sought me out on this fair evening?" Prompto called as he swung away from the Citadel towards an abandoned housing area.

"I was just really curious as to what a Spider wears to a formal event. I have to say you seem rather under dressed." The Goblin shot balls of flame toward his swinging nemesis.

"Or maybe – everyday I am  _over_  dressed." Prompto mused as he dropped suddenly to avoid the attack.

"Running around in a leotard is definitely  _under_  dressed." He charged on his Glider, which made Prompto realize that there was definitely a very sharp point at the front of that thing.

"Yikes Gobby, that could poke someone's eye out!" Prompto yelped landing on a rooftop and rolling to the right.

"Are you offering to test out that theory, Spider-Splat?"

"I need both my eyes. You know – the better to see you with my dear."

The Goblin tossed multiple pumpkin shaped explosives at his target, but Spider-man managed to flip to avoid the first few then caught the last in a web and launched it into the air for it to explode several yards away.

"You know, I really don't appreciate being called 'Spider Splat'," He held up his fingers to make quotations. "I understand the alliteration makes it fun to say. But it's really just hurtful."

"The better to antagonize you with my dear."

"Ah. Touché."

* * *

After making a long-winded speech apologizing for the disturbance and making sure everyone was unharmed, Regis dismissed the guests and retired to his own chambers for the night. Once everyone was gone, Gladio and Ignis escorted Noctis to his own rooms.

"…. Last time."

"… be fine. … later."

Noctis turned to see that the other two were whispering behind him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. We're simply curious as to how Spider-man is faring with that ruffian." Ignis waved off.

"I'm not even worried. He's  _Spider-man_  he'll be fine!"

"The guy isn't invincible." Gladio pointed out.

Noctis shrugged. "Sure. No one is. But he's a super hero. I'm sure he'll win."

"Just because there isn't media evidence discussing him getting injured doesn't mean it hasn't happened." Ignis commented.

"Why are you two so worried? It's his thing. Whatever happens we'll find out in the morning."

"I suppose so…"

The two said goodnight to the Prince before continuing down the hall.

Ignis sighed. "Prompto needs to tell him."

"Maybe its best he doesn't know. Think of what he'd do if he thought the kid was really in danger."

"Likely what we should be doing now."

"Have a little faith in Blondie. He has been training."

"I will worry regardless."

Gladio stopped to look out the window in the direction that the hero and villain had taken off in. "Yeah... me too."

* * *

Down the hall Noctis frowned from the statue he had warped on top of.  _What was Prompto hiding? And was he in danger because of it?_


	21. More Lies and Assumptions

"So what happened to you?"

"I remembered that I had an assignment due in my photography class, and I thought – Hey! I'm at the Citadel! I can get some cool night shots. And was out in the garden when the whole thing happened."

"So you missed the Green Goblin's entire appearance?"

"Yeah pretty much. I saw Spidey of course. But left soon after. Guess I lucked out."

Noctis snorted. "Guess so. I tried looking for you but Gladio said that you had already left."

"Well I had told Iggy. So he must have spread the word."

"How did you get back out?"

"That Nyx guy helped me again."

"Oh. Him." Noctis hummed. "He's pretty cool."

"I like him. But that's mostly because he's saved my ass a few times while I've been at the Citadel."

"Gladio told me that a Glaive had to bail you out. I should have known it was him. He's kinda the hero type."

"I got that vibe." Prompto agreed.

"I think he's training with us today. You coming?"

"Don't hate me…"

"Prompto…"

"But I am super swamped today."

There was a pause before Noct responded, his voice much softer. "Are you ok?"

"What?" Prompto tried not to sound flustered. "Why would you ask? Of course I am!"

"You know if anything ever happens, or if you need help…" There was an irritated sigh. "You  _know_  right? You're always welcome to come to me. Ask for anything."

"I – I know Noct. Thank you."

"You're  _sure_  that there's nothing you want to say?"

"Positive."

"Alright then… I'll talk to you later."

"Ok. Bye."

The phone went silent.

Prompto gave the biggest sigh he could manage. He had  _nothing_  going on today. Even his police scanner was being silent. Which was super annoying. Spider-man wears a mask and suit that totally covers all skin therefore could totally go out and do things. Whereas Prompto Argentum did not wear a mask, and seemingly didn't have sleeves on any of his street clothes, therefore was stuck in his apartment all day do to the giant burns that were blistering his skin.

Several angry red splotches dotted across both arms and one on his left cheekbone.

This was one of those times he was glad that he had listened to Ignis about the potential need of a back up suit in case his other one needed time to be repaired. He had already wrapped it up with an apologetic note to the Advisor hoping that he would find time to patch up the old one.

The door to his apartment suddenly flew open. His senses weren't tingling so he assumed it was Ignis or Gladio.

"If you're here to rob me go ahead. Most of this crap needs to be thrown away anyhow." He gestured about his shabby place without moving from his spot on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Nice try." Gladio snorted. "But I don't think even a robber would take anything from here. Except maybe this."

Prompto sat up enough to see that the Shield was holding the back up suit in his hands, turning it over.

"Well this looks ok."

"It's the back up. The original needs some serious TLC." Prompto sighed.

"So he what – breathes fire?" Gladio was examining his arms now.

"No. He just throws explosives around like there's no tomorrow."

"Ouch. Did you try that salve that Iggy left you last time?"

"No…"

"And why not?"

"Because I kinda forgot about it. And kinda didn't realize that it worked on burns."

"It works on just about anything that would be causing you pain. So yes. On burns too."

"Fine fine. I'm getting it."

It took a great deal of effort and swinging his legs off the bed to motivate himself into actual standing. But once on his feet he managed to find the jar that Ignis had left before and began applying the sweet smelling substance to his burns.

"So why are you here?" Prompto asked as he put the salve away.

"Iggy was worried." Gladio shrugged. "And I was hoping you had some Cup Noodles."

"I knew it. There is some in the cupboard. Help yourself."

The larger man was more than happy to.

"Noctis was pretty freaked out last night when he couldn't find you. Tried rushing back into the chaos after I had just dragged him out."

Prompto sighed. Of course he had. "I just got off the phone with him. We're good."

Gladio gave him a hard stare.

"I  _know_. Alright? I know."

"Then get to it."

Prompto made a whinnying noise before rolling over back on his bed.

"Wuss."

* * *

Noctis was looking at the paper Ignis had brought him. Over the years the Advisor had always tried to keep the Prince up to date on current events, but reading the paper had never interested him. Until Spider-man was making the headlines. Then the paper started having those awesome pictures along with the articles. A large pile of papers had been saved at Noctis's apartment, all with mentions of the friendly neighborhood hero.

How had he never noticed it before?

Under each picture, in the smallest size font possible, each one read  _Photo taken by Prompto Argentum._

His friend had apparently become Spider-man's personal photographer.

This was obviously what Ignis and Gladio had been discussing last night. Prompto was chasing after the hero to get those photos. Considering how close up some of these were, the blonde would have to be pretty near the fights.

Noctis was furious. Was this why he was always missing? Why he skipped classes? The secret that he always lied to cover? Prompto was tailing the hero and getting in the middle of these dangerous situations just for some photos?

He wasn't as big of a fan of the Spider as Noctis was. So he likely wasn't taking them because he was fanboy-ing. Was it for the pay? None of the papers had pictures from anyone else. They were all from Prompto. Maybe this was good pay? Did his friend need money? He knew his apartment wasn't the best. Prompto complained often about how his landlord was a bully, and that everything was falling apart. They were constantly stopping at the auto parts store on their way back from school so that the blonde could fix something or another.

Maybe Noctis could offer him a job at the Citadel? The pay would be way better than he made on his photographs. And safer. If anything he would be closer so that Gladio, Ignis, and himself could look out for him.

Pulling out his phone he pressed one to call Ignis.

"Hey Specs? I got a question for you…"


	22. I WIsh You Could Be Honest With Me

Ignis breaking into his apartment was a new one. Noctis had a key, and Gladio apparently knew how to pick locks. But Ignis? He was always so polite and gave his usual short knock before waiting patiently for Prompto to come let him in. However, this particular morning the door just seemed to fly open and Ignis was suddenly over his bed glaring at him.

"Uh wha - " Prompto blinked rapidly trying to understand what had just happened. Wiping a bit of drool from his cheek he sat up and tried to focus on the imposing man before him so early in the morning. "Iggy?"

"Good morning Prompto. I came to have a word." Ignis's tone was not too pleasant, yet somehow remained neutral all the same.

"Sure. Yeah. Can I just…?"

"Of course."

Prompto hurried to the bathroom. A moment later he came out and grabbed two cans of coffee before handing one to Ignis who met him at the unsteady table near his kitchen area. The spectacled man waited patiently as Prompto chugged half the can.

"Ah. That's good. So uh, is there a problem Ignis?"

"Yes. You need to go talk to Noct." He held up a hand to stop any interruptions when the blonde opened his mouth to protest. " _Enough_  Prompto. This is ridiculous. While I am honored that you have entrusted Gladio and myself with your secret, but Noctis is your best friend. The fact that you have kept it hidden this long quite frankly amazes me. However, Noctis is not stupid, and he is still very curious as to what you have been up to. This morning he called me with a request. I don't know what he believes you are up to. But he has gathered that it is possibly perilous, and has asked that I find a position for you at the Citadel."

Prompto's eyes felt like they were going to fall out of his head at how wide they were. "WHAT? A job  _at_  the Citadel? That is too cool! Would I get a cool outfit like you and Gladio? Or maybe that Nyx guy?"

Ignis raised an eyebrow. "If you worked for the King you would need to always be punctual, and would never have a good reason to sneak off for what you call 'hero duty'."

"Ah." Prompto sighed. "Right. So that's a no go."

"My thoughts precisely. My point is, that Noctis is concerned for your well being, and he is willing to go to great lengths to try and help you. Thankfully he called me first. This time. Next time who knows what he'll do? He can be pretty creative. So Prompto, please, be honest with Noctis."

What was really holding him back? Fear? Weakness? That didn't matter. Ignis said it himself, Noctis was his best friend.

"Yeah. Ok. For real this time."

* * *

"Hey, what's up?" Noctis answered his phone.

"Hey buddy," Prompto sounded nervous. He was really a terrible liar. "I was wondering if you were free today?"

Noctis looked over at his itinerary that Ignis had slid under his door this morning before he was even awake. His day was packed.

"Is it important?"

"Uh no… not really… just..." His voice began to trail off, before suddenly getting firmer. "No. Yes. It is important. I need to talk to you. I need to tell you something."

Slipping the busy schedule into the trash bin under his desk Noctis stood up to look for something to change into that wasn't his sweats. "Where did you want to meet?"

"My place? I'll be here all day. So whenever works for you… I'm sure you're busy."

"I'm just getting dressed now, I'll head over as soon as I'm ready."

"Great! Thanks Noct!" Prompto sounded so relieved.

"Yep."

He set his phone down, but stared at it for a moment more. Was this is it? The big secret he's friend's been hiding?

* * *

The apartment was cleaner than it had ever been before. Even before he'd moved in. The sudden anxiety of telling the truth had him bouncing around so much that he finally noticed how gross his place had began to look. Noctis said he was on his way as soon as he got dressed. It took the Prince a bit to fix his hair in the morning, but not _that_  long.

Clothes were folded and put away or in the dirty hamper, his bed was made, floors swept, and he'd even cleaned the bathroom. He heard a key turning in the lock as he was putting away the last of his dishes.

The Prince made his way into the apartment.

"So what's up?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title was taken from the song Honest by The Neighbourhood. A song that I listen to almost every time I sit down to write this story.


	23. Now That's Just Rude

"Prompto! What happened?" Noctis warped across the room and was peering into his friend's face.

"Wha?" The blonde spluttered. "Hey buddy – a bit close there?"

"What happened to you? Where are all these burns from?" Noctis had moved on to looking at his freckled arms.

_Oh. Right._

"Heh. They are totally healing. Seriously! These looked worse the other day."

"The other – Prom? Would you just tell me what happened?" Noctis was starting to sound angry.

"Its no big – just a cooking accident!"

Noctis just stared at him.

"No really! I was cooking bacon! And the grease – you know how it splatters? And I tripped and it just went everywhere."

The Prince continued to stare.

Prompto offered a nervous chuckle.

"Did I seriously come all the way here just so you could lie to me some more?"

"What are you talking about…" Prompto sighed. "No. You're right." He gestured at the wobbly table.

"I didn't get these burns cooking."

"No way." Complete deadpan.

"Right. Obviously. And I called you here so that I could tell you the truth. Because we are  _best_ friends, and honesty is important."

There was a moment of silence.

Noctis waited for his friend to continue. They had known each other for a couple years now, and he was well aware that sometimes Prompto just needed to build his courage.

"You know Spider-man?"

Noctis nodded like he knew where this was going.

"Well… I am him. I'm Spider-man."

Noctis snorted. "Try another one."

"No really!"

The phone began to ring; it was Prompto's landline. Which really he wasn't sure why he kept it going. But that wasn't important now. He let the machine get it.

"Prompto… I thought you were telling the truth."

"It is the truth! See I have the suit!" The blonde scrambled out of his seat and pulled out said suit.

"You and five hundred other people in the city probably have the same one."

"Mine has tears in it!"

"Which are probably from tripping around this apartment."

The phone started ringing again.

"Dude! I am not that clumsy! Also – I wouldn't just prance around my apartment in this get up."

"You're the one who pulled out the suit. And I never said you pranced. However…"

Prompto huffed irritably, tossing the suit back in the closet. "Fine. Don't believe me."

Noctis rested his chin on his hand. "If you are Spider-man, then you could shoot webs right?"

"Oh! Yeah! Check it - " Prompto froze and turned toward the window.

Suddenly glass exploded everywhere. "Its  _rude_  to not answer your phone when you're home Spider-man. Or should I say Prompto Argentum." Green Goblin was suddenly hovering on his glider in Prompto's living space.

Noctis jumped to his feet using his current limited power to summon a blade from the Armiger.

Prompto's instincts had already kicked in and he had jumped in front of the Prince. "Not nearly as rude as breaking and entering though."

"Should I wait while you find the mask? Or can we get this show pony on the road?"

"What do you want Gobby?"

"What every villain in Insomnia wants right now. To find what you hold dear."

Prompto refused to look over his shoulder at Noct, but why wasn't he running? Didn't the Prince understand that he needed to get out of here now?

"I mean, you're place isn't really fit for a pig to live in, so I wouldn't say you have anything of value. But look at what you're stowing behind you. Is that his Royal Highness? The Crown Prince? Such friends you make Spider-Splat!"

He refused to let cold wash of terror take over him. Goblin knew that he was friends with Noctis. This was  _literally_  why he had been putting off telling him. This. Right here.

" _Again_  with the Spider-Splat?" He groaned, shooting off a barrage of webbing to tangle up the Goblin with his Glider to the wall.

It wouldn't last long though.

"Noct, hey buddy," Prompto turned to find the Prince staring at him in complete shock. Eyes wide, face pale, jaw dropped. Snapping his fingers to get his attention he quickly guided him to the whole in the wall where his window used to be. "Listen, you need to call Gladio  _now._  As soon as I drop you, get on the phone and  _call Gladio._ "

Noctis nodded numbly. "Call Gladio… as soon as you – wait, what?"

Prompto shoved him out the window and waited till he was half way to the pavement before catching him in a web and slowly easing him to ground. He watched as Noctis gathered his bearings, looked back up at Prompto, and pulled his phone out.

"Oooh the knight in filthy rags saves the princess by throwing her out the tower window." Goblin was free. "I missed that fairy tale as a kid. Sounds better than the other ones I did hear though." The villain kicked his Glider back to life before fully turning to face off with Prompto. "Too bad though, I feel like the knight won't win this round. The Evil Goblin came prepared."

As the blonde opened his mouth to respond he suddenly noticed that a green gas was emanating off the Goblin's suit.

"Dude, that looks so gross…" Why was he suddenly so drowsy?

The gas?

Was it poison?

He felt his knees crash against the floor, but the pain didn't quite register.

"Nighty-night Spider-man…"


	24. Anxious Royal

" _Gladio! I need you here now!"_

The Shield had heard various versions of this exact summoning, but this is the first time he'd heard the words tear out of the Prince's throat.

"Noct. Where are you?"

" _By Prompto's… Gladio… Prompto… he's… I think he's in trouble."_

"I'm on my way. Stay nearby, but out of any conflict."

" _Yeah. Hurry."_

* * *

He did as his Shield asked, which was surprising enough. But what really shocked him was the state the Prince was in. He was pacing back and forth just outside the apartment complex, his eyes never leaving the crumbling hole in the brick. Gladio didn't have to look to know that it led to Prompto's place.

"What happened?"

Noctis jumped at the deep voice. "Gladio? When - ? He  _took_  Prompto! The Goblin! He blew up the wall and took him!"

Clenching his fists he took a few breaths. Right. "Did he say why he was taking Prompto?"

"Why? Why?! Probably because Prompto is - !" The Prince's face suddenly got paler. "Prompto… oh my gods. Astrals. Holy… Gladio. Gladio. Prompto is  _him_. Prompto is Spider- he's… Spider-man." He managed in between panicked breaths.

"Noct! Snap out of it!" Gladio gripped his shoulder. "So you know. He told you. Or this happened. Either way – now you know. We need to get  _you_  to the Citadel while I go try to see if I can find any leads about where he took Prom."

"What? Call the Glaive! The Crownsguard! Did you hear me?  _They took Prompto_!"

"And you were in the room when it happened!" Gladio snapped. "Which means they now know who he is.  _And_  they know who he is close to! Which is you. Which is why we are getting your ass to the Citadel now."

Noctis wanted to fight him on this. The Shield had known the Prince his whole life. He knew every single one of his quirks, twitches, and eye rolls. And right now he was getting the small spasms in the biceps that meant he wanted to lash out, the eyes that kept switching from Gladio's face to down the street, and the overly calm pace of his breaths.

"Noct." He gripped the fluffy black locks and yanked lightly so that the Prince was forced to focus on him. "He's going to be ok. We'll get him back."

"Right." He nodded as his Shield let go of his hair. "Yeah. He'll be good. He's Spider-man. And Spider-man is strong. He does this all the time… but Prompto…"

"Save it kid. Lets move."

"I'm going to call Ignis." Noctis muttered.

"That's fine. Get him updated."

Gladio pulled out his own phone to call a few close friends in the Glaive. They needed to get the blonde's apartment cleaned up and closed off before people raided it. Not that there was a whole lot in there that would want to be stolen…

_Except –_

"Hey Noct," He paused to look down at his charge but realized that the younger man was already fiddling with the camera he had just been thinking about.

"What?"

"Never mind."

They hurried on toward the safety of the Citadel.


	25. To Find the Blonde

"The itsy bitsy spider, climbed up the Citadel, he made friends with the Prince, before the Goblin squished them both!"

Prompto groaned. Partly due to the giant headache, and partly to the terribly scratchy singing voice.

"Oh are you finally waking up? It's been  _hours_. I've been sooo bored. Are you ready to play?"

"Sure. I've always enjoyed playing with green aliens."

"That's just rude."

"And knocking me out and tying me up isn't?"

"You aren't tied up. Just drugged up." The Goblin's ugly face came into view. "I want you to work with me Spider-man."

Prompto snorted. "And why would I do that?"

"Because I will burn down a chocobo farm." He cackled.

"WHAT?! WHAT KIND OF SICK BASTARD - " The muscles in his arms spasmed.

The Goblin patted his head before standing up to take a few steps back. "Wow. That wasn't even true. But I'll keep that reaction in mind. What I really want is a chance into the Citadel. You help me, and I won't harm your precious Prince."

His fingers were finally able to clench and unclench fully. "So you are threatening the Prince's life. That's what this is."

"If you get me in the Citadel, I promise to leave him alone."

"And I should trust the promise of a criminal… why?"

"Because I could have killed you – and I didn't. I could have exposed your secret – and I didn't."

Finally sure that he had just enough strength back in his body to make an escape he leapt into a clumsy flip. Managing to land it, he took a few steps closer to his captor. "Listen Goby, I don't appreciate being drugged and dragged. And I  _really_  don't appreciate people threatening my friends. I am not the only one guarding the Prince. He has the Crownsguard, the Kingsglaive, and one mean-ass Shield."

The Goblin lunged forward causing Prompto to step back. Which in turn made him trip over a loose brick and tumble over the side of the building.

"Guess this is ta ta for now Gobs!" He called as he threw out a hand to shoot some webbing.

Sticking close to the shadows and alleys considering he was out of his 'uniform' he managed to land near his apartment building. The landing was really more of a stumble and crash into the pavement. From his knees he looked up at the gaping hole that was where his home used to be.

He gave a tired chuckle. "Well… its not like it was that nice of a place anyway…" With a large sigh he got to his feet and climbed the outside wall right into his place. He needed to get his suit, and find his phone. Gladio needed to know that the Goblin was after Noct.

Collapsing on his broken bed he looked around at the mess. Where had his phone ended up in all of this chaos? Slowly he let himself lay back against the springy mattress. Did someone honestly ransack his place and steal his  _one ragged blanket_? It had coffee stains on it. But sure. They can keep it.

Why was he so tired?

Were there still drugs in his system?

It was possible.

Wincing he turned to look at his nightstand and saw that it had been completely smashed to splinters. Rolling ungracefully to the floor he looked around for his one prized possession. But there was no sign of it.

Heaving a sigh he rested on his knees and looked up at his cracked ceiling giving a forced chuckle.

"That seems about right."

* * *

"It's been  _twelve hours_!" Noctis snapped. "We need to go look for him!"

"Noct, we are doing all we can." Ignis once again tried to calm the Prince down.

"The fact that we are standing here having this conversation means we aren't!"

"Hold your horses Princess. I got 'im." Gladio shouldered the door to the Prince's bedroom open, a limp Prompto in his arms.

"Prompto!" Noctis scrambled over toward his Shield as he set the blonde on the Royal's bed.

"He's fine." Gladio reassured them as Ignis began checking the young man's vitals. "I think he's been drugged though. His eyes are pretty bloodshot. But I don't think he sustained any real injuries."

"Some sort of chloroform I would suppose." Ignis nodded.

"There are probably still traces of it on his clothes if you wanted to go in depth into it, but he seems like he's breathing normally and he isn't feverish."

"You're right. I think he just needs to sleep it off."

"He'll be ok." Noctis muttered.

Now that Prompto was not only in his sight, but resting peacefully in his bed, Noctis felt all the tension in his body relax. A quick glance to his retainers assured him that they appeared to be easing up as well.

"I suggest that just to be safe, we keep a watch over him for the next couple hours."

"I think we can manage that." Gladio smirked as he watched Noctis adjust the comforter over his friend for the fifth time.


	26. Lethargic

Prompto knew something was wrong before he was fully awake. The bed he was on was too soft, too warm, and too… safe. Slowing his breathing he tried to listen to his surroundings. There was at least one other person in the room. Probably just one other. He finally opened his eyes to get a better grip on his surroundings.

And felt ridiculous for his anxieties.

This was Noctis's room.

"Noct?" His voice came out more of a croak than anything.

"Mhm…" The Prince's sleepy groan came from right next to him.

His limbs felt heavy.

So he  _had_  been drugged.

It took a lot more effort than he would ever want to admit but he finally managed to reach over and poke Noctis in the ribs. "Noooct."

"Proooom." There was a lot of shifting around; the blanket slowly seemed to disappear from where it was covering him.

The Prince never had been an early riser.

What time was it anyway?

How had he even gotten here?

" _Prompto_!" Noctis's face suddenly bounced into view. "Are you ok?" Bright blue eyes were searching his face with concern.

"I think so. But I can't really move my arms… or legs."

"Right. That's probably lethargy from how long you've been sleeping. Let me get – no wait Specs said to call him when – but maybe - " Noctis froze suddenly half kneeling on the bed half standing, and looked back down at his blonde friend. "Do you want water or Ignis first?"

"Uh… considering I don't think I could lift a cup for water right now… So Iggy I guess?"

The Prince nodded. "Right." He scrambled for the nightstand and found his phone. "Yeah he's awake…"

That's how he starts talking on the phone? No hello? No 'this is Noctis'?

Of course considering he was the Prince maybe he never had to do that. And if he was talking to Ignis, the Advisor likely knew who was calling five seconds before the caller knew to call.

"Iggy will be here in a sec." Noctis sat back on the bed next to him. "Does anything hurt?"

"No. I don't remember fighting much… just that gas stuff."

"Right. I don't remember what Specs called it, but it was some sort of knock out gas. But it was laced with some sort of venom? Not enough to kill, at least not – well  _you_. But maybe a  _normal_  human… not that you're not abnormal! But - "

Prompto really was trying to keep up with what Noctis was going on about. But it seemed sporadic. Even to him. "Hey buddy, why don't calm down a bit." Prompto sighed. "I have no idea what you're all worked up over… but my Spidey-senses aren't tingly. So we are safe."

As tired and lethargic his system may be, there was no way he missed the flash of irritation in his friend's eyes, but before the Prince could say anything they were interrupted by the door opening.

"And how are we feeling today Prompto?"

_Ignis._

"Days have been better Iggy. Though this might be the nicest bed I've ever slept in." Prompto chuckled.

"I'm sure. Who wouldn't want to sleep in the Princess's bed?" Gladio smirked as they approached the bed.

Noctis's face had a distinct red hue to it, he muttered something incoherent then left toward the bathroom.

After a quick look over Ignis finally nodded his approval. "I'd say you're past the worst of it. Not that you were ever in any real danger, but the toxins definitely did not agree with your system."

Prompto nodded before looking over at the Shield. "Gladio… I'm  _so sorry._ I didn't have any idea that Goblin was remotely aware of my identity. He knows now. He saw Noct.  _It's all my fault_. I should've - "

Gladio sighed loudly over his words and crossed his arms over his massive chest. "Listen kid. I've known this was coming since I first realized it was you under that mask. We can all be on our best behavior and follow everything by the books. But the fact is that those psychos are out there. And they would be targeting the Prince anyway for his status alone. Having a superhero as a best friend can only be a good thing. As his Shield it's my job to make decisions that would benefit the Prince's security. I chose to let this happen. Sure I would have preferred to be there when it all went down. But you did everything right Prompto."

The blonde knew his eyes were tearing up. He had been so worried that Gladio and Ignis were going to tell him to stay away. That his being friends with Noct would be too dangerous in the long run. That they couldn't afford the risks that would come with Prompto's friendship. And Gladio…

The Shield rested a hand heavily on his shoulder and gave it a bit of a squeeze, meeting Prompto's eyes with a proud gaze. "You did good kid."

"R-really?"

"Noct informed us of how you handled the situation. It could not have been handled better. Well done Prompto."

His face felt hot. "Heh. It was nothing. Just protecting my best friend and all that."

"Here's that water." Noctis finally reappeared with a filled glass in hand, a smirk on his face. "And thanks Prom. For everything."

Could he survive thugs, other petty criminals, and the Green Goblin to be killed by embarrassment?

He looked over at three people hovering near the bed, currently discussing living arrangements now that his apartment was trashed.

He closed his eyes, somehow still tired.

But he could survive this much.


	27. Video Games

"No!"

"It was all over the news this morning." Noctis patted his friend's back.

"I refuse to believe it! They wouldn't do this!"

"I don't know if they had much of a choice."

Prompto moaned and rolled his face into the pillow, covering his body with the comforter. "Don't they know I love them? Don't they know I _need_ them? Need more?! Forever and always?"

"You realize back in the day once you finished, that was it. No more?"

"You realize I am stronger than you and you are hurting my soul to the point where I may just lash out?"

"Don't shoot the messenger."

Another pitiful moan.

"Ignis has breakfast ready if you want to join us."

"I don't have the will to live anymore."

"Sure."

* * *

"Where is Prompto?"

"In bed." Noctis muttered around a mouthful of gypsy toast, sweet syrup dribbling down his chin.

"Is he unaware of the meal?" Ignis looked over from the morning paper.

"- told him."

"Page four top left corner Specs." Gladio grunted from across the table.

There was the rustling of paper, then a 'mmm' of understanding. "This has him distressed? This company?"

"They canceled some new game additions that were supposed to release in the next year."

"Noctis?"

"It's the end of the world."

"You seem rather relaxed about the whole scenario."

"I think I'm still in denial."

"Over a video game?"

"Its more than that." The Prince muttered getting up. "I'll see you two later."

Once the doors had closed behind him Ignis raised an eyebrow over at the Shield. "This all seems rather dramatic."

Gladio shrugged. "It's a damn good game. Got to say – I'm pretty disappointed myself."

* * *

It took almost twenty-four hours, but Noctis finally managed to convince his friend to the breakfast table. He was still clearly pouting, but he managed to pull his phone out and look through his social media feed. Also checking up on criminal activity while he was out. Thankfully there wasn't too much. Just petty thefts and a single break in. The local law enforcement could do that easily enough.

"What is this?" Noctis sounded disgusted.

Prompto was so used to it he hadn't realized that the food set in front of him was definitely not Ignis's work. It was just regular toast, a little extra burnt.

"The butter is in the kitchen. Jam is here." Gladio shoved the jar forward.

"Why is the butter in the kitchen?" Prompto looked over at the large doors that led there, debating whether it was worth going to get it.

"Because I wanted jam, so I brought it." The Shield growled.

"Where's Specs?" Noctis grumbled still glaring at his food.

"He's in the training room."

"Allllright." Shoving away from the table the Prince headed toward the training room. Prompto followed after him, tripping over his own feet to catch up.

They found the Advisor right where Gladio said he'd be. The target that was laid out was basically in ruins, as Ignis stood there pulling his daggers out of the bulls-eye.

"Hey Iggy… what's wrong?" Prompto stepped closer to further inspect the damage that had been done.

"Why was it _cancelled_?!"

Noctis stared at him wide-eyed. "What?"

"You shouldn't promise something if you are just going to retract it later!" Ignis snapped.

"Uh… Specs?" Prompto rested a hand on his shoulder. "Its just a game."

The Advisor sighed and glared at his decimated target. "A damn good one though."

"Toast?" Gladio offered the plate he had brought with him.

There was a raised eyebrow, then a sigh. "Thank you, but no. Give me a few minutes to whip up some real breakfast."

"Yay! Breakfast!" Prompto cheered as they left the training room.

"I didn't know Iggy had played the game." Noctis muttered to his Shield.

"He spent most of yesterday and all night in front of the TV. Said he was trying to understand why you two were so upset yesterday."

"Guess he figured it out."

"I'll send someone to clean up and replace the target."

"Good idea."


End file.
